Former Indianapolis Colts coach, Tony Dungy, was once in the same situation as Los Angeles Rams coach, Sean McVay.
Leading up to Super Bowl 56, there were murmurs that Los Angeles Rams head coach, Sean McVay, would retire if the team were victorious. Considering McVay is only 36, that caught many off guard.
The Rams did win the Super Bowl, but after a few days of celebration, it appears that McVay is committed to another season and ready to run it back.
That doesn’t mean that he wasn’t seriously considering retirement, in fact, he probably was, but actually winning the game gave him a change of heart. At least that’s what another Super Bowl-winning head coach thinks.
Tony Dungy, the man who led the Indianapolis Colts to a victory in Super Bowl 41, knows exactly what McVay is feeling, as he also wanted to retire after winning the Super Bowl.
A message from Veronika Khomyn, who is the fiancée of #Rams coach Sean McVay… and it’s a pretty clear one: pic.twitter.com/EY0Qvp6BsY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 17, 2022
Tony Dungy planned to retire after Colts Super Bowl
On the Business of Sports podcast, with Andrew Brandt, Dungy admitted that he planned to retire after winning the Super Bowl, talking about how great it would be to go out on top.
Instead, Dungy ended up coaching two more years. So what happened between the plane ride where his mind was set on retirement and the moment he decided to return? The Super Bowl parade.
Dungy expressed, “You get to the parade, you get all the players around you and all the guys (saying), ‘Hey, we can do this again.'” Seeing the belief in his team’s eyes was enough to sell him on another attempt and that’s why he feels all the retirement rumors around Los Angeles won’t come to fruition.
"Is Sean McVay really gonna be able to look at Matthew Stafford and say, ‘Hey, good luck next year. I hope you guys win it again.’ Is Aaron Donald gonna be able to look at Von Miller and say, ‘I wish you guys all the best.’ They’re gonna say, ‘You know what? We’ve got a chance to make some history. We can do this again, and I believe we can do it. Let’s go.’ I think in about two weeks, they’ll be ready to roll."
Dungy’s experience with this proved him right, because that’s exactly what happened at the Rams parade. Both McVay and Aaron Donald, who also had retirement rumors, were leading chants about running it back.
"RUN IT BACK, RUN IT BACK." 🗣
— NFL (@NFL) February 16, 2022
Sean McVay and Aaron Donald have one thing on their mind at the @RamsNFL parade. pic.twitter.com/prAVO9tDHZ
Unfortunately for Dungy, the Colts weren’t able to actually run it back. In 2007, Indianapolis went 13-3 but lost in the Divisional Round. A year later in 2008, the Colts finished 12-4 and lost a Wild Card game.
Following that season, Dungy officially retired but he didn’t get to walk off after a Super Bowl win. Repeating as champs is really hard in the NFL, it hasn’t been done since the Patriots in the 2004 season.
The Colts are hoping the Rams don’t do it next season, as Indy has its own Super Bowl aspirations.
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