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Dungy's Son Lured To Plant By Academic, Sports Record

AP File Photo

Colts coach Tony Dungy, left, and his son, Eric, acknowledge the applause of fans before the Colts played the Arizona Cardinals in an NFL football game in Indianapolis Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006.

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By KATHERINE SMITH, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 15, 2008

Updated: 01/14/2008 11:35 pm

TAMPA - Eric Dungy didn't know anything about Plant High School's football team until he Googled it on the Internet.

"I saw that they won a state championship," Dungy said.

Now that he's a member of the Plant Panthers, Dungy is learning more and more about his team. He got to meet the bulk of the players on Monday when the team began its weight training program.

The first inquiry into Plant came after his parents visited in October in search of a school to send their son. They were sold on the academic standards of the "A" school.

"My mom, Lauren, loves the academics here," said Dungy, who is attending Plant on a special assignment. "Her first priority was academics."

That the school has a state champion-caliber football team is a bonus for the sophomore wide receiver. Dungy also played basketball and baseball in Indianapolis, but he said he will focus on football at Plant.

He knows all about Plant quarterback Aaron Murray, who set a state record with 51 touchdowns and threw for 4,012 yards last season. Dungy said they ran a pro-style offense at Indianapolis Park Tudor High last season, where he led the team in receiving, but nothing like Murray's production.

"I hear he is amazing," Dungy said.

He knows Plant is losing its top two receivers to graduation and hopes he gets a shot at starting next season. What he doesn't know is whether his father, Indianapolis coach Tony Dungy, is retiring, though he gets asked that question a lot.

"People want to know, and they ask," Dungy said. "It comes with the territory."

Coach Dungy is prepared to announce his decision within a week.

"My wife and I will sit down and evaluate this week and talk about it, talk it through," Coach Dungy said during a news conference Monday in Indianapolis. "We'll probably do a lot of praying about what we want to do. We'll probably come to some decision this weekend and be ready to move forward on Monday one way or the other."

Coach Dungy was asked last week about his retirement plans after a story ran in The Tampa Tribune on his son's enrollment at Plant. The fact that his other children are enrolled in Tampa schools has many speculating that Sunday's game, a loss to the San Diego Chargers, was his last as a head coach.

Colts owner Jim Irsay offered some incentives to keep him around, including the use of his private jet to fly to Tampa for his son's games on Friday nights.

Dungy was in elementary school when his father was fired by the Bucs in 2002. The family spent time apart for a few months when Coach Dungy went to Indianapolis and the rest of the family stayed behind to finish the school year.

So far, Dungy seems to be fitting in at his new school and with his new teammates.

"He's cool. He's real easy to get along with and already has a lot of friends here," Plant offensive lineman Frank Nicholas said. "He's not stuck up because his last name is Dungy. If you didn't know who he was, you would never know who is dad is. He's real humble."

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 259-7860 or ksmith@tampatrib.com.

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