Former Bucs Coach Tony Dungy Pondering Bold Career Change

Dungy coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for six seasons before leading the Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl in 2006 to cap off his Hall-of-Fame career. He has zero political qualifications, but that hasn't stopped the GOP in the past.

In 1998, former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne won an election for his state's senate as a Republican and in 2020 former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville became the first person elected to a U.S. Senate seat after an entire career spent coaching football.

Dungy's ideology certainly aligns with current Republicans in control of Washington, D.C.

Last November, he celebrated women in Florida getting denied access to abortion despite 57 percent of voters siding with abortion rights. Dungy, 69, cited "The Bible" when Democratic nominee Kamala Harris said during her election campaign that the government should not get to control a woman's body.

He also has a long history of using his faith as a shield for homophobia.

When Michael Sam came out as gay in 2014 before entering the NFL, Dungy said he wouldn't have drafted him because he "wouldn’t want to deal with all of it" and "things will happen." He also disagreed with Jason Collins' "lifestyle" when he became the first openly gay NBA player.

In 2022, Dungy called any sexual relationship not involving a married man and a woman a "sin." He then implied that anyone who doesn't share his religious beliefs will go to Hell. He was a featured speaker at a 2023 event hosted by anti-gay Christian evangelist Andrew Wommack, who likened being gay to murder.

Early in 2023, Dungy found himself in public controversy after he shared an illogical and widely debunked anti-transgender conspiracy that U.S. schools were providing litter boxes for students who identify as cats.

On NBC, Dungy plays the role of a venerable but generally mild-mannered, soft-spoken ex-coach. But in politics, his hard-line conservative views may be enough to kickstart a career.