Retired coach Tony Dungy is known as one of the NFL's nice guys. But on Wednesday, he gave reporters a taste of what they might hear from him in his career as a television analyst.
Speaking with reporters on a national conference call after being introduced with retired safety Rodney Harrison as the latest additions to NBC's Football Night in America team, Dungy didn't mince words when asked about some of the league's quarterbacks -- especially Jay Cutler.
Tony Dungy
Coaching Career
Seasons: 13
Record: 139-69
"He's a very talented guy who can throw the ball very well, but quarterbacking is so much about leadership and so much about doing things under pressure," Dungy said of Cutler, who demanded a trade from the Denver Broncos this offseason and landed with the Chicago Bears. "There is going to be a lot of pressure on him in Chicago because he's been viewed as the missing piece of the puzzle to get them back to the Super Bowl.
"We'll see about the maturity level," Dungy added. "That is what I would question, and some of the things that happened leading to him leaving Denver. That would concern me as a coach."
Dungy's criticism didn't stop with Cutler. When asked about Peyton Manning, who recently expressed his frustration over the dramatic changes to the Colts' coaching staff, Dungy didn't spare his former quarterback.
"I was a little surprised to see some of the remarks in public," said Dungy, who coached the Colts from 2002 to 2008 and led them to the Super Bowl XLI title. "One of our things was to keep everything in house. I'm pretty sure Peyton regrets now some of those comments getting out because you don't want air your laundry, you want to keep it in house."
Dungy spoke positively of suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who recently was released from federal prison to home confinement on dogfighting charges and wants to be reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
-- Tony Dungy on
Jay Cutler
"I do hope Michael gets the opportunity to come back for a number of reasons," Dungy said. "I think that he has paid for his crime, and I think that he deserves a second chance. He is a talented young man, and he has a great story to tell. If he does come back and make it, it can be very inspiring to young people who make a mistake, to realize that one mistake doesn't doom you. So I do hope it happens."
"If I were running a team, what I know about Michael Vick and what I've seen from him, I would definitely give him an opportunity to play," Dungy added. "If I needed a quarterback, I would not be afraid of his past."
Dungy also touched on the controversy surrounding Vince Young, who said last weekend that he wants to be the Tennessee Titans' starting quarterback in 2009 or play for another team.
"I am a big Vince Young fan, and I have gotten to know him from playing against him twice a year (with the Colts in the AFC South)," Dungy said. "He did a tremendous job at the University of Texas leading that program, and he was on his way in Tennessee, but some things happened. He is going to have to recover and rebound and reestablish that leadership.
"Right now, I think the team does look at Kerry Collins as being the leader, and that is going to be a hill he (Young) is going to have to climb. It will be interesting to see if he does it. I am pulling for him, and I hope he does. He is a good person, and I think he can develop into a big-time quarterback, but right now, I think you have to say Kerry Collins is the leader of that offense."
