Tony Dungy's Book Quietly a Bestseller

In the four-plus months since I opened shop at All on the Field, I've received a handful of emails encouraging me to promote this TV show or that product.

Of course, I've politely declined, because I don't view myself as a marketing puppet -- err, agent -- for those companies who are just out to make a buck.

I received no such request, however, from Tony Dungy or Tyndale Publishers, who published Dungy's new book, Quiet Strength. But for some reason -- even though I've yet to read the book myself -- I still feel compelled to promote it in whatever way possible.

Actually, there are several reasons:

• Dungy is a different kind of coach. Yelling and screaming has become the norm for football coaches these days, and guys like Jon Gruden seem to think they're the 12th man out there. But Dungy maintains his composure, and even after a blown assignment, he looks as if he's asking his player what he had for breakfast that morning. I have a lot of respect for that.
  
  
• Dungy is a winner. A lot of people thought the coaching style referenced above couldn't get the job done, but the Colts proved that wrong last year. I think Dungy, who was part of the 1979 Super Bowl champion Steelers, is a more fiery competitor than people realize.
  
  
• Dungy has overcome tremendous adversity. I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for Dungy to persevere until he got a shot at head coach in 1995. Becoming a head coach is a tough enough journey on its own, much less having to overcome racial stereotypes and prejudices on the way.
  
  But the bigger adversity Dungy has overcome is the suicide death of his son, James, in 2005. Dungy went through a significant grieving process, but instead of going into hiding, he used the tragedy as an opportunity to reach out to others.
  
  
• Dungy is a family man. We all know that work can take up a lot of time, energy, and thought. Whatever your job is, multiply all that times 10 and you're probably approaching what it takes to be a successful NFL coach. But Dungy swims upstream, and he has consistently made time with his family a priority.

Quiet Strength is about to become a bestseller, so I don't know how much additional promotion it needs. What I do know is that Tony Dungy is a heck of a man, a rare example of a sports figure we can look up to on and off the field.

So, even if you're not a Colts fan -- or even much of a football fan -- do me a favor and go pick up a copy of the book. I will if you will.



UPDATE: For those of you who found this post by a Google search, welcome to All on the Field. Please feel free to take a look around, read a few other posts, and definitely check back in.

Since writing this post almost three weeks ago, I have kept my end of the "bargain" by buying Dungy's book. I'm about halfway through it, so I can give you a brief review.

If you're looking for a book about Xes and Os, this isn't it. Dungy definitely talks football, but only in the greater context of life and values. Of course, this shouldn't come as too much of a surprise if you know anything about the man.

Quiet Strength talks about a lot of the values Dungy lives by, such as faith, patience, and perseverance. Dungy realizes that these qualities supersede anything that take place on the football field, and his life is a testament to that fact.