Dungy and Lovie

I know I’m restating what a lot of people have already said, but, hey… it’s my blog!

Watching the postgame interviews with these two gentlemen made me proud to be a coach.

It’s interesting being a coach in the US where our collective vision is of a coach red-faced and yelling. (I’m inclined to be that way myself many days.) It is so refreshing to see the coaching style of these two men really buck that trend. By all accounts, neither is inclined to raise his voice or intimidate players to get results. Each also models the ideal “humble in victory and dignified in defeat.”

Watching their comments after the Superbowl was like a complete textbook on classy coaching wrapped into 5 or ten minutes of video.

Chip off the old Bear

Chip off the old Bear on ChicagoSports.com

I know – I’m a Chicagoan, so I’m inclined to get caught up in the Superbowl hoopla!

Nevertheless, I really enjoyed Lovie Smith’s son’s perspective on his father’s coaching. I especially like the passage:

“If you get too caught up in, ‘I’m not getting this because of my color,’ it’s counterproductive. My dad uses that word a lot. If it’s counterproductive, he’s not going to take a part in it.”

It made me think about things that I can get caught up in as a coach that can be counterproductive. Lovie’s right – it’s a useful word.

Oh, and go Bears!