Nice Guys Finish

Fox Sports: Tony Dungy to announce retirement.

Tony Dungy is stepping down as head coach of the Colts — at least that's what he's telling those inside the team headquarters, sources told FOXSports.com.

While the team has scheduled a 5 p.m. press conference, Dungy is walking around the team's complex saying goodbye to players and team employees and informing them that the transition should be a smooth one for new coach Jim Caldwell.

According to one source, Dungy explained that he has talked it over with his family and they believed this was the proper time to step down, while the Colts' nucleus was still intact.

I've never become a Colts fan even though I grew up in Indiana and live less than an hour from Lucas Oil Stadium. I didn't like the way the Colts came to Indianapolis and Jim Irsay's Bible thumping gets under my skin.

But mostly it's because rooting for the Colts is like rooting for the Rotary Club. For as good as this team is, and as good as it has been, they are devoid of the personality and attitude that makes a team fun to watch. The only thing to get attached to with the Colts is the idea that a team from Indiana could actually win it all. That is more than enough for most of the current Colts fans.

All that said, Tony Dungy is a class act and one of the best coaches of this era. He took two franchises that could screw up a wet dream and built them into teams that went deep into the playoffs year after year, and he did it without turning into an insufferable toolbag.

I hope Dungy is not done with football. I'd love to see him come back in a year or two in the same kind of role Parcells has with the Dolphins. I think he could do at least as well in dragging a team like the Lions back into contention. And that would be a hell of a lot more fun to watch than the Colts.