I found some key insights from Tony Dungy, the author of Quiet Strength, in the next section of my reading in his book. In chapter six, Dungy describes his promotion from defensive backs coach to defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dungy also describes the incredible experience he shared with his wife as they had their first few children. Dungy, despite all of the positives surrounding the Pittsburgh organization, eventually heard his calling from God in a different direction. The move was difficult for both Tony and his wife, Lauren. After surveying through several options, Dungy eventually decided to take a defensive backs coaching position for the Kansas City Chiefs. In Kansas City, he reconnected with a good friend of his and fellow coach, Herm Edwards. Dungy endured extremely long hours studying with fellow coaches while in Kansas City. His experiences with the Chiefs certainly had their ups and downs, but he overall grew as a person and coach while in Kansas City. Dungy took his next coaching job with the Minnesota Vikings. The head coach for the Vikings, Dennis Green, had a sizable impact on Dungy. Green emphasized hard work all of the time, yet he always allowed people to be treated as true people. He gave coaches time to be with their families. He always had a strong unity policy with the team. Dungy learned a great deal from Green, and took many of his philosophies with him when he became a head coach later in his career.
In chapter seven, Dungy continues to detail his experiences in Minnesota, specifically his spiritual growth. He became good friends with a chaplain in Minnesota, named Tom. Tom helped instill Dungy with core beliefs and moral to not only strengthen him as a christian, but also as a football coach and high character leader. Through more experiences with both Tom and Dennis Green, Dungy grew expansively in knowledge and Green prepared him every day for his time as a head coach. Dungy describes several opportunities he had to be a head coach that simply fell short for him. He was almost hired by many organizations. Shockingly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed great interest in Dungy as a future head coach. Through poor interviews and looming coach candidates, Dungy believed he had no shot at the job. However, he was eventually signed to a head coaching contract by the Buccaneers. Dungy and his wife were ecstatic, and he looked forward to a bright future with a team to call his own.
After reading this section of Quiet Strength, I cannot help but agree with most of Dungy's lessons. He states in his book that he learned and absorbed an incredible amount of information from the teachings of others. Obviously, a person cannot become great from their own efforts. They must have a strong supporting cast. I always know I have a strong base in my family and friends for support. No matter what I decide to pursue in life, I know I will have leaders to look up to for guidance. Specifically, I remember leaders in my middle school, all of them being teachers and coaches. They not only instilled toughness in me, but they showed a true interest in my abilities and potential. In response, I have always had a greater confidence due to some of these encounters with teachers in my life. I, as with Dungy, will always look for experienced people for guidance in any area of life I decide to pursue.
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