Tony Dungy Promotes the Importance of Fatherhood with All-Pro Dad Initiative
Tony Dungy will be remembered as one of the greatest coaches in the NFL, but the NFL does not define his greatness. Despite being the proud recipient of a Super Bowl title and an impressive win-loss record (148–79), Dungy retired as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in January 2009 to pursue more important callings in life. The celebrated coach is continuing his work as a leading advocate the All Pro Dad Fatherhood program.
Since launching the program in 1997 with the nonprofit organization Family First, Dungy has helped it evolve into a fathering assistance unit that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Dungy recently teamed up with the University of Georgia’s head coach, Mark Richt, to implement the All Pro Dad Fatherhood program on the college level.
–amir shaw
How did the All Pro Dad Fatherhood Program come about?
It started in 1997 when I was coaching in Tampa Bay. My assistant coaches would talk about the fact that we weren’t spending enough time with our kids. We met with Mark Murrell who was the head of Family First. We decided to have an event called Dads Invite your Kids to Practice. The event was successful, so we decided to expand the program across the league.
How has this program helped NFL players?
When I was at Tampa, we handed out T-shirts that showed the 10 ways to be a better dad. A young man named Nate Webster looked at the T-shirt and he said he was going to try some of the things out. He later went to the Cincinnati Bengals and we met before a game. He said the things that I told him six years earlier made a difference in the way he approached family life.
There are a lot of issues with NFL players who are dealing with legal issues. Do you think this program can help those situations?
A lot of the issues we see in the NFL are directed to guys not having fathers as role models. We’re at a point where three out of four men in the NFL didn’t grow up with their dads. This initiative is to help parents and young men so that we can break this cycle.
