Coach Tony Dungy -- Now THERE'S a Leader

Tony Dungy's interview with the Wall Street Journal's Matthew Kaminski makes me long for more people like the Super Bowl-winning coach in politics. Dungy has a reputation for speaking quietly while his leadership shouts clearly. Would that our national imagination be captivated by this: How would the Dungy style of leadership influence health care reform or the debate over sending more troops to Afghanistan?

Dungy, the former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, knows how to marshal a team of diverse personalities through setbacks and wins. And he continues to prove that he understands the power of second chances by mentoring three-time Pro Bowler Michael Vick.

Many sought to demonize the quarterback after being horrified by his participation in a dog-fighting scandal. But Dungy looked beyond that and saw the possibility of redemption. After serving in federal prison, Vick will be eligible on Sunday to play in the regular season for the first time since 2006. Whether Vick plays or not when the Philadelphia Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs, Dungy's mentorship helped him reach this moment. Kaminski wrote:

Vick's performance -- as a gifted quarterback backing up a famed quarterback and as a leader off the field -- will be carefully observed. Will Vick display humility? Will he step up or blow it? Vick's defining moment mirrors the turbulent, come-from-behind season the country now faces. The odds seem against us, too, after an antagonistic summer and still tenuous economy. But visionary leadership can be a restorative salve, even for the wounds inflicted by politics.

Maybe, as Vick has chosen to do so far, the nation could benefit from the Dungy leadership motif. Dungy is the son of a World War II pilot with the Tuskegee Airmen, a husband and a dad, a former athlete who won a Super Bowl and a competitive head coach who helped the Colts win one, too. He has worked in prison ministry and with families. I don't intend to glorify him the way American pop culture maddeningly likes to do, but Dungy's view of football and life offer a counterintuitive style of leadership. As Sally Jenkins' insightful piece in the Washington Post noted when Dungy retired in January:

It sounds like a small thing, but it's not. The qualities that make great coaches are often negative: They tend to be obsessive workaholics with controlling natures, whose dictatorial traits get stronger as pressure mounts, and the worst are snap-jawed tyrants.

Dungy has his imperfections, and he's as intense a gamesman as anyone, but he always fought that magnetized pull called loss of perspective. He coached from a place of basic kindness, treating every opponent as a friend, and the game as a game, even under duress.

We often compare sports with real life. Maybe Vick's comeback and Dungy's leadership invite us to remember that the game of life is not just a cliche. Even in the world of politics.