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Last updated on Tuesday, January 22, 2008
(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) - Tony Dungy will return for a seventh season as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
Team owner Jim Irsay announced on Monday that Dungy will remain with the team for at least the 2008 season. Irsay said that the upcoming season would not be "a victory lap" for Dungy and that the winningest coach in franchise history could stick around beyond the final year of his contract.
Dungy has considered retiring after each of the previous three seasons and has spent the past week discussing his future with his family and with Colts officials. Dungy's decision focused on his ability to focus on football and family - a balance that became more difficult after his family moved back to Tampa earlier this month.
While Irsay has offered to allow Dungy to take more time off, he said Monday that day-to-day operations around the team will not change and that Dungy expects to be around the team as much as he has in the past.
Team president Bill Polian said that Assistant Head Coach Jim Caldwell will be promoted to associate head coach and will succeed dungy when Dungy does decide to retire.
Caldwell has been a candidate for other head coaching jobs this offseason and Dungy said that locking Caldwell up made his decision to return easier, saying he felt no pressure to step down in order for the Colts to retain Caldwell.
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