Hall of Famer Tony Dungy has been on both sides of an NFL broadcast as a longtime head coach and an analyst for NBC.
So he is one of the best possible people to imagine what it might look like this fall when NFL broadcast partners get a crack at in-game interviews with head coaches and coordinators based on a new rule approved by owners this year.
In an interview on The Dan Patrick Show on Thursday, Dungy explained the challenges of getting coaches to actually spill on the game and why he would be “as boring as I can be” to get away from future interviews if he was still coaching.
“I was probably one of the most friendly guys, and if you let me determine when we’re going to do it, and hey, I’ll do it as I’m walking into the locker room at halftime, (that is OK),” Dungy said. “But if you come to me and say, ‘you have to do an interview in the middle of the third quarter when the game’s going on,’ you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to be the worst interview you could have, so you’ll never ask me again.
“Because I don’t want to do that, I don’t want to say anything, and I don’t want to mess up my train of thought in the course of a game. That’s what I’m worried about.”
Dungy said he expects coaches to play along and avoid fines but avoid anything revealing.
“I’ll cooperate, but I’m not going to say anything,” the Super Bowl champion head coach said. “And I’ll be as boring as I can be, so you’ll never ask me again.”
Dungy believes some younger coaches like Miami’s Mike McDaniel may actually be insightful, but most will see it as an inconvenience and a distraction. In the heat of the moment, it won’t be many coaches’ priority to talk to the CBS or Fox booth.
“I don’t think you’re going to force these guys and say, you have to talk at a certain time,” he said.
[The Dan Patrick Show on YouTube]
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