TAMPA — Tony Dungy was carried off the field on the shoulders of his Colts players, damp from the rain and Gatorade shower after becoming the first African-American coach to win the Lombardi Trophy with a victory over the Bears in Super Bowl XLI.
Five years earlier, he was escorted out of One Buc Place by a security guard while raindrops danced off the boxes he held after being fired by Tampa Bay following a 31-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC wildcard game.
By then, the Bucs were already two weeks into secret negotiations with Bill Parcells to replace Dungy — until the former Giants coach withdrew from consideration amid pushback and an impending divorce.