{"id":19097,"date":"2026-03-11T07:08:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T07:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:07:11","slug":"tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/entertainment\/sports\/tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Dungy: When Mentors Mold the Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tom Lamphere, team chaplain for the NFL\u2019s Minnesota Vikings, and I were having breakfast at Jerry\u2019s Market when he said something that took me by surprise. \u201cTony, let\u2019s study the Book of Nehemiah.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019d been with the Vikings for a year as their defensive coordinator, a position I hoped would lead to my dream job: NFL head coach. Tom and I had become good friends, and I considered him a spiritual mentor.<\/p>\n

Still, I couldn\u2019t help but wonder, Where is he going with this?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s only thirteen chapters but Nehemiah is filled with lessons about leadership,\u201d Tom said. \u201cLessons that I\u2019d like you to apply to your own life.\u201d<\/p>\n

I nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see you becoming a head coach,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd when God gives you that opportunity, I want you to be prepared.\u201d<\/p>\n

I started reading Nehemiah, and Tom and I got together for breakfast every Monday to talk through each chapter. Nehemiah was a Jewish official in the court of the Persian king. With unwavering faith in God, he led the people of Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of protection around the city in just 52 days.<\/p>\n

The more Tom and I discussed Nehemiah, the more I saw how God had already been working some of those vital leadership lessons into my life through the mentors he put in my path. Other lessons I had yet to learn.<\/p>\n

Nehemiah 5:15-16 \u201cThe early governors\u2026lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not. Instead I devoted myself to the work on this wall.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I grew up in Jackson, Michigan. Besides my parents, CleoMae and Wilbur Dungy, the person I looked up to most was Allen Truman.<\/p>\n

Allen was a tremendous athlete five years older than me. That\u2019s a big deal when you\u2019re 12 and in Little League. Allen was my coach, and he kept mentoring me after our season ended. He\u2019d take me to Detroit Tigers games or to shoot hoops with his friends or just throw the football around.<\/p>\n

Allen warned me about guys who had great talent but got caught up in thinking they were better than everyone else.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to run with the crowd,\u201d he told me. \u201cYou have a lot of gifts. You\u2019re going to do big things. Just stay focused.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later I realized that what Allen did for me was pretty exceptional. After all, when I got to be a teenager and star athlete myself, I didn\u2019t always think about the scrawny 12-year-olds in the neighborhood who might need a role model.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until I studied Nehemiah that it hit me how Allen had been wise beyond his years.<\/p>\n

When Nehemiah was appointed governor of Jerusalem, he didn\u2019t take advantage of people like his predecessors had. He treated everyone fairly, from the nobles to the poor, and stayed focused on his mission, two hallmarks of a good leader that my boyhood hero and mentor Allen instilled in me.<\/p>\n

Nehemiah 4:19-20 \u201cThen I said to\u2026the people, \u2018The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet join us there. Our God will fight for us!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll never forget Leroy Rockquemore, the African-American assistant principal at my predominantly white junior high. One of the first days of school Mr. Rockquemore sat down next to my friends and me in the cafeteria. For a small man, he had a big, booming voice.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you boys think of the Jackson 5?\u201d he asked. \u201cAnd what\u2019s up with the Tigers?\u201d<\/p>\n

Why is the assistant principal being so nice?<\/em> I wondered. What does he want from us?<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Rockquemore kept dropping by our lunch table, asking us about our families and friends, our interests. It took me a while to figure out he was making an effort to learn more about us because he cared.<\/p>\n

Even after I moved on to Parkside High School, Mr. Rockquemore kept tabs on me. I was the starting quarterback on the varsity football team. Senior year the coach named me co-captain along with a white teammate.<\/p>\n

The other captain was a top player but so was my friend Bobby, who\u2019d been leading the offense with me since sophomore year. Like me, Bobby was black and I believed that he\u2019d been passed over because Parkside had never had two black captains.<\/p>\n

I was so incensed, I quit the team. I figured I\u2019d just concentrate on playing basketball.<\/p>\n

Right before fall practice, I got a phone call. I recognized that booming voice. Mr. Rockquemore. \u201cTony, come to my house. I need to speak with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I sensed Mr. Rockquemore was going to try to talk me into going back to the football team, and I really didn\u2019t want to discuss it. Still, I met with him. I respected him too much not to.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou love playing football,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the other guys on the team look up to you as a leader. You\u2019ve got to reconsider this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo way,\u201d I said. \u201cIt\u2019s not fair\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Rockquemore silenced me with a look. \u201cTony, you have a God-given talent. Why would you let anything stop you from doing what you have the ability to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

That got me. I loved football. If I believed God had given me my talent for the game, why should I let anything get in my way of fulfilling it?<\/p>\n

I swallowed my pride (no easy feat at age 17 and still something that\u2019s hard to do) and returned to the team. We went on to have a strong season, one that got me noticed by college scouts.<\/p>\n

If Mr. Rockquemore hadn\u2019t talked sense into me, I wouldn\u2019t have gotten a scholarship to play quarterback for the University of Minnesota. He showed me how a leader handles challenges, by facing them and not running from them, a lesson I saw repeated in the Book of Nehemiah.<\/p>\n

Nehemiah and his people faced great opposition\u2014scorn, hatred, threats\u2014yet he never let any of that sway him from his goal. He rallied his team to defend themselves against attack and continue rebuilding the wall, reminding them that God was with them every step of the way.<\/p>\n

Nehemiah 9:33 \u201cIn all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous; you have acted faithfully\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I graduated from Minnesota a team MVP, sure that I would be going to the NFL as a quarterback. But on draft day, the phone never rang. Finally I signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent. Coach Chuck Noll played me as a reserve, mostly on defense, and on special teams.<\/p>\n

All-Pro safety Donnie Shell and I roomed together. My second year I got mono in training camp. I went from practicing with the guys to sitting on the sidelines. One night I vented to Donnie, \u201cWhy would God lead me to this point only to set me back?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTony, you\u2019ve always said that God is number one, that he knows what\u2019s best. But now that you\u2019re faced with this challenge, it doesn\u2019t seem like that\u2019s what you really believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whoa. Where was<\/em> my faith? Right there in our training camp dorm room, I got down on my knees. Lord, I\u2019m ready to put you first. I believe that I\u2019m going to get better and play but if I don\u2019t, I trust you to let me be able to handle it.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You know what? I got better. The Steelers won the Super Bowl that year. But the next season I was traded. The following year I was traded again. My understanding of what Donnie, who was as much a faith mentor as a football mentor, taught me about trust deepened.<\/p>\n

As chapter nine of Nehemiah recounts, God keeps his promises to us and provides for our every need, and a good leader remembers who the true leader is.<\/p>\n

Nehemiah 8:10 \u201c\u2026for the joy of the Lord is your strength.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

My playing career lasted just three years. Then in 1981, Chuck Noll hired me as the defensive backs coach for the Steelers. I was only 25, the youngest coach in the NFL.<\/p>\n

Most of the players were older than me. They\u2019d been showing me the ropes not long ago, and now I was supposed to tell them what to do? As if they\u2019d ever listen to me like they listened to Coach Noll!<\/p>\n

My first day on the job Coach Noll sat me down. \u201cLook, I hired you because I like what I see in you,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t try to imitate me. Be who you are and concentrate on your<\/em> strengths.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was relieved to hear that from someone I respected so much as a leader and as a person. I was still learning the X\u2019s and O\u2019s but I could rely on my greatest strength, my faith. From then on I coached with a confidence that came from knowing God was truest to me when I was truest to myself.<\/p>\n

Being a mentor leader means bringing out the best in people, like Coach Noll did with me. And Nehemiah did with the people of Jerusalem, for example, stepping aside and letting Ezra, with his priestly expertise, explain the law of God.<\/p>\n

Nehemiah 1:11 \u201cLord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant\u2026 Give your servant success\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I coached for the Steelers for seven years. Next came a three-year stint with the Kansas City Chiefs. Then I landed the job as defensive coordinator for the Vikings. That\u2019s what brought me to those weekly talks with Tom about the Book of Nehemiah.<\/p>\n

Our breakfast Bible study honed in on two key points. One: Nehemiah\u2019s opportunity to help his people rebuild Jerusalem came in God\u2019s time, not his. Two: Nehemiah equipped his mind and heart to be ready for that opportunity.<\/p>\n

The preparation I understood. I grew my knowledge of football tactics and strategies. I made myself think of the big picture, as if I were leading not only the defense but the entire team.<\/p>\n

It was the waiting I struggled with. Two years passed and no head coaching openings came my way. I was frustrated, very frustrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust keep doing your job and wait on God\u2019s timing,\u201d Tom said, reminding me how Nehemiah kept praying and waiting until the king of Persia granted him leave to go to Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

The following year, 1996, it happened: I became the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thanks to Tom\u2019s spiritual mentorship, I was ready for the responsibilities that came with that job and for what came down the road\u2014becoming the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl when I led the Indianapolis Colts to victory in 2007.<\/p>\n

I retired from coaching three years ago, but I\u2019m still involved with the game I love. These days you can find me on the Sunday night NBC show, Football Night in America<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m grateful to God for this newest opportunity, as grateful as I am for the people he brought into my life to lead me on the path he planned for me.<\/p>\n

Allen Truman. Leroy Rockquemore. Donnie Shell. Chuck Noll. Tom Lamphere. Mentors. They guide us and challenge us to be our best. They shape our faith and our lives. Good mentors create good leaders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tom Lamphere, team chaplain for the NFL\u2019s Minnesota Vikings, and I were having breakfast at Jerry\u2019s Market when he said something that took me by surprise. \u201cTony, let\u2019s study the Book of Nehemiah.\u201d I\u2019d been with the Vikings for a year as their defensive coordinator, a position I hoped would lead to my dream job: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[349],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[1526],"class_list":["post-19097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTony Dungy: When Mentors Mold the Man - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tony Dungy: When Mentors Mold the Man\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tom Lamphere, team chaplain for the NFL\u2019s Minnesota Vikings, and I were having breakfast at Jerry\u2019s Market when he said something that took me by surprise. \u201cTony, let\u2019s study the Book of Nehemiah.\u201d I\u2019d been with the Vikings for a year as their defensive coordinator, a position I hoped would lead to my dream job: […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/entertainment\/sports\/tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Guideposts Articles\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-11T07:08:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T06:07:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/articles.guideposts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/gp1111dunge_marquee-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"438\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"315\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tony Dungy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/entertainment\\\/sports\\\/tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/entertainment\\\/sports\\\/tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Neeraj Rai\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f0862e0bfb5f72f571ea4d005001f0be\"},\"headline\":\"Tony Dungy: When Mentors Mold the Man\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T07:08:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T06:07:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/entertainment\\\/sports\\\/tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1926,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/entertainment\\\/sports\\\/tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/gp1111dunge_marquee-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/entertainment\\\/sports\\\/tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/entertainment\\\/sports\\\/tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/gpbookstore.org\\\/articles\\\/positive-living\\\/entertainment\\\/sports\\\/tony-dungy-when-mentors-mold-the-man\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tony Dungy: When Mentors Mold the Man - 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