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The Game Has Changed Since The '70s As More Coaches Have Looked At Ways To Make It Tougher On Defenses. But I'm Glad My Career Turned Out The Way It Did - I Would Have Never Gotten A Chance To Learn The Defensive Side Of The Ball.

-Tony Dungy

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The Game Has Changed

Tony Dungy

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The Game Has Changed Since The '70s As More Coaches Have Looked At Ways To Make It Tougher On Defenses. But I'm Glad My Career Turned Out The Way It Did - I Would Have Never Gotten A Chance To Learn The Defensive Side Of The Ball.

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Once We Had Become Locked In On A Schedule, He (coach Denny Green) Often Created A Disruption (artificial Adversity) To That Schedule Just To See How Guys Would Respond.

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And One Game, As We Know, Can Cost You A Lot.

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I Hired Top-notch People, Trusted Them To Do Their Jobs, And Then Came To Grips With The Fact That I Wouldn't Be Coaching As Much.

I Enjoy Talking To Young People, And Talking To People About Helping Young People. That Part Is Not A Chore. It's Pretty Fun, And Something I Like To Do Because I Think It's Important.

Sometimes I Think God Wants There To Be A Circus So We Can Show There's Another Way To Respond.

Remember That Mentor Leadership Is All About Serving.

I Said All Along That God Is In Control.

God Is In Control

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Winning Would Create Greater Potential For Change Than Talk Alone.

The Secret To Success Is Good Leadership, And Good Leadership Is All About Making The Lives Of Your Team Members Or Workers Better.

My Dad Took Me To A High School Basketball Game And This Very, Very Famous Coach In Michigan, By The Name Of Lofton Greene - He Was A Guy That My Dad Was Familiar With. He Was From Our Hometown. And I Watched The Game And I Said I Didn't See This Guy Doing A Lot Of Coaching. And My Dad Told Me, Well, It's Just Like A Teacher - Which He Was - He Said If You Do A Good Job Teaching During The Week, When They Take The Test On Friday, That's Not The Time You Have To Do A Lot Of Demonstrative Things.

The Fundamental Keys To The Culture Of Any Organization Can Only Be Achieved When Everyone Is On The Same Page.

Avoidance Doesn’t Solve Anything; It Merely Serves As A Temporary Salve.

I Realized That I Needed To Be More Like The Shepherd Than The Hired Hand In Protecting My Team.

Be Successful Not Just In What You Do, But In Who You Are.

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Part Of Our Purpose In Life Is To Build A Legacy – A Consistent Pattern Of Building Into The Lives Of Others.

Hard Work And Togetherness. They Go Hand In Hand. You Need The Hard Work Because It's Such A Tough Atmosphere... To Win Week In And Week Out. You Need Togetherness Because You Don't Always Win, And You Gotta Hang Though Together.

I Have Yet To Hear God's Audible Voice, Although I Have Often Felt Led By God In More Subtle Ways.

If We Do What We Do Without Panicking, We Can Accomplish Great Things.

There Are Weaknesses That You Have To Understand And It Takes A Lot Of Discipline For The Players To Be Able To Play It Effectively And Have Confidence In What They're Doing.

What Will People Remember Us For? Are Other People’s Lives Better Because We Lived? Did We Make A Difference? Did We Use To The Fullest The Gifts And Abilities God Gave Us? Did We Give Our Best Effort, And Did We Do It For The Right Reasons?

But I Know I Have A Son Who Doesn't Listen To Anything I Say And If He Hears The Same Thing From Someone Else, Sometimes It Has A Little More Impact.

Your Life Has Been Intentionally Designed By God To Have A Uniquely Significant And Eternal Impact On The World Around You.

The Game Has Changed Since The '70s As More Coaches Have Looked At Ways To Make It Tougher On Defenses. But I'm Glad My Career Turned Out The Way It Did - I Would Have Never Gotten A Chance To Learn The Defensive Side Of The Ball.

I Had 10 To 12 Close Buddies Who I Played Ball With All The Way From Elementary To High School. That Is Where I Learned To Compete.

Gay Marriage And Who Should Be On A Football Team Have Nothing To Do With Each Other.

I Could Never Have Pictured Myself Writing A Book When I Was 25 Years Old. My Mom Was An English Teacher But I Wasn't That Way Growing Up.

Everything's Not Going To Go Perfect. You're Going To Have Some Losses That You're Going To Have To Bounce Back From And Some Things That Are A Little Unforeseen That You're Going To Have To Deal With.

If You're Just Saying, Hey, I'm Doing This. I'm Working To Make Money. I'm Working To Increase My Status. If That's All There Is, I Think You Will Find Out That It's Meaningless.

When It's Over, It's Over Is Part Of Football's Greatest Appeal To Me. When A Game Ends, Win Or Lose, It's Time To Prepare For The Next One.

The First Thing You Have To Do Is Make Sure You're Still Wanted Back. I Never Take That For Granted Any More.

If You're A Leader, People's Lives Should Be Better Because Of The Influence You've Had Along The Way.

The First Step Toward Creating An Improved Future Is Developing The Ability To Envision It.

You Have Gifts, Abilities, And Dreams No One Else Has.

It's Just Really Making Sure I Am Doing The Best Job I Can Do As A Dad. I Do Think That Is My No. 1 Job.

Did You Know That Nearly One In Three Children Live Apart From Their Biological Dads? Those Kids Are Two To Three Times More Likely To Grow Up In Poverty, To Suffer In School, And To Have Health And Behavioral Problems.

If I Can't Get The Captains To Respond Appropriately And Show The Leadership I Expect, How Is Anyone Else Going To Respond?

I Was Not Asked Whether I Would Have A Problem Having Michael Sam On My Team. I Would Not.

Integrity, The Choice Between What's Convenient And What's Right.

He's Probably The Hardest-working Guy I've Been Around Who Has Great Ability. Overachievers Work Hard Because They Have To. Peyton Has Rare Talent, But Chooses To Push Himself Like He Doesn't.

Change Isn't Always Bad; We Should Always Be Learning And Improving. But The Change I Was Seeing Involved Principles, Not Procedures.

Life Is Challenging. I Wish I Could Tell You That You’ll Always Be On Top Of The Mountain, But The Reality Is That There Are Days When Nothing Will Go Right, When Not Only Will You Not Be On Top, You May Not Even Be Able To Figure Out Which Way Is Up. Do Yourself A Favor, And Don’t Make It Any Harder Than It Has To Be. In Those Moments, Be Careful How You Speak To Yourself; Be Careful How You Think Of Yourself; Be Careful How You Conduct Yourself; Be Careful How You Develop Yourself.

Anyone Who's A Parent Dreads That Call In The Middle Of The Night. I Have Four Grown Children And I Still Dread It.

Stubbornness Is A Virtue If You Are Right.

Chuck Noll Knew How He Could Help People. He Was A Teacher. He Was A Guy That Was Very Good At Selecting People, Getting Them To Fit In. He Wasn't The Guy That Was Going To Sit There And Motivate You, Intrinsically. That Wasn't What He Was Best At. So He Hired People That Were Good At That.

If You Want To Be An Athlete, Then Getting Good Grades, Going To College, And Developing Your Intellectual Skills Are Important.

God's Definition Of Success Is Really One Of The Significant Differences Our Lives Can Make In The Lives Of Others.

Who Really Benefits From Discouragement? More Often Than Not, Encouragement Is Exactly What Is Needed.

Nothing Does More To Lubricate The Rough Spots Than A Good Dose Of Encouragement.

Michael Vick Is A Work In Progress. I Think He Really Is Wanting To Do The Right Thing. I Think The Philadelphia Eagles Have Been A Great Organization For Him. He's Had Some Ups And Downs. He Still Has To Learn To Not Put Himself In, Maybe Bad Situations, In Terms Of Personal Life And Friends, And That Kind Of Thing. But All In All, I Think He's Growing Every Day.

I Needed To Do My Current Job Well, Keep Preparing, And Wait On God's Timing. I Needed To Trust His Leadership Rather Than Try To Force An Outcome I Wanted.

If Someone Needs Help, I Can Offer Advice. I'm Not Always Right And People Don't Always Listen.

Things Will Go Wrong At Times. You Can't Always Control Your Attitude, Approach, And Response. You Options Are To Complain Or To Look Ahead And Figure Out How To Make The Situation Better

I Would Want America To Know Our Kids Need Us. Spend As Much Time With Your Kids As You Can. Enjoy Them. Be With Them. Hug Your Children; You Never Know When It Will Be The Last Time.

Integrity Is What You Do When No One Is Watching; Its Doing The Right Thing All The Time, Even When It May Work To Your Disadvantage.

I Always Liked To Be Fairly Simple Because You Could Get More Players Ready To Play Quickly. If You Lose Players To Free Agency, Injuries, Etc., It Is Easier To Get Young Players Ready To Play In A Less Complex System.

The Further I Get Away From Coaching, The More I Know I Made The Right Decision. You Almost Forget How Wonderful Family Life Is.

There Are Certain Bridges That Are Not Worth Crossing, No Matter What Others Think. Loyalty And Relationships Are Important.

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