By Matt Sohn
Dec. 31, 2007

Little is going wrong in the world of the Indianapolis Colts. For the fifth consecutive season, they have won the AFC South title. They have secured a first-round bye in the postseason. And they can cross one key item off the to-do list after agreeing to a long-term deal with standout S Bob Sanders.

As far as head coach Tony Dungy’s future is concerned, none of this may matter. The way we hear it, while there have been no real hints dropped by him as of late, it would be far from a total shock if Dungy waved goodbye to the Colts, and to the NFL, after the season.

On the surface, it seems incredulous to believe that a man experiencing as much success as Dungy would choose to walk away from the game in his prime.

But Dungy is not your average football coach. Unlike such NFL luminaries as Joe Gibbs and Marv Levy, who are still involved with the game well into their senior years, Dungy has made it clear that he doesn’t see himself being around the game for life. He sees football as merely an extension of himself — not his defining characteristic — and has always planned on leaving the gridiron at some point to pursue other callings.

The question has always been “when,” not “if.”

As he has done for the last several years, Dungy will again sit down with his wife after the season and assess his options. Is this the season he finally pulls the plug on his football career? Sources say it’s very possible.

However, Dungy’s decision to return in each of the last two years gives them pause. Between the suicide of his 18-year-old son James in 2005, and his winning of the Super Bowl last season, Dungy has returned to the sidelines even after a pair of life-changing events.

Regardless of when he opts to silence his whistle, his options for the next phase of his life abound. A deeply religious man, Dungy has often talked about continuing the work he started years ago with a prison-based ministry in Tampa. While head coach of the Buccaneers, Dungy co-founded a ministry where he worked with troubled youths in trying to turn their lives around. Although based in Tampa, he’s talked about expanding it and possibly taking it nationwide.

Following the wild success of his debut book, “Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, & Priorities of a Winning Life,” which has floated near the top of the New York Times best-seller list for the past year, some postulate that writing or a speaking tour is in his future.

“It would not shock me (to see him leave football after the season),” said one league source close to Dungy. “He has made all the money he will ever need. He will be on the speaking tour for years making money. He could make half-a-million on the tour, go out twice a week, raise his little children.”

If Dungy does decide to step down, one candidate the Colts would consider as a replacement is Colts assistant head coach/quarterbacks Jim Caldwell, who will likely be in play for any head-coaching vacancies around the league this offseason.

However, with the Colts’ new home, Lucas Oil Stadium, set to open next season, some believe that Dungy will stick around for a little longer.

Dungy has mentioned wanting be with the team as its makes the move to the new facility, which is being constructed across the street from the RCA Dome. Because he has as good a working relationship with his team’s owner, Jim Irsay, and president, Bill Polian, as any coach in the league, there are more than a few reasons for Dungy to remain in Indy.

“Tony’s having a lot of fun right now,” said one team observer. “But he’s a very mutlifaceted guy. Nothing would surprise me.”