Teenage Son of Colts' Dungy Found Dead

The 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy was found dead in his Tampa-area apartment early yesterday. Police said there was no sign of foul play and that an autopsy to determine the official cause of death will be conducted this morning. Results were expected to be announced later today.

James Dungy, the second oldest of five children of Dungy and his wife Lauren, was a student at Hillsborough Community College and had graduated last spring from North Central High School in Indianapolis. Over his father's 10-year tenure as an NFL head coach, he had been a frequent presence at practice and on the sideline on game days when Dungy coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001 and, over the last four seasons, the Colts.

His parents were informed of their son's death early yesterday morning and immediately departed Indianapolis for Tampa. Colts players were informed of his death during a meeting at the team's practice facility.

Bill Polian, the Colts' president and general manager, addressed the team and said afterward, "It was not easy and it was somber, to say the least." The Colts made several chaplains available to players and club personnel.

The Colts, at 13-1 with the best record in the NFL, are scheduled to play in Seattle tomorrow against the Seahawks. Jim Caldwell, the team's assistant head coach, will take over for Dungy and Polian said "however long [Dungy] will be away is entirely up to him."

James Dungy, who was 6-foot-7 and 235 pounds, lived in the Campus Lodge Apartments in the Tampa suburb of Lutz. His girlfriend found him when she returned to his apartment at 1:30 a.m. yesterday, according to the police report. She called the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Department, and Dungy was not breathing when police arrived minutes later.

A deputy sheriff reportedly performed CPR and Dungy was taken by ambulance to University Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

"He grew up around here from when he was a little kid," said Mike Alstott, Tampa Bay's veteran running back. "I remember he was at my waist and probably a little taller than that. I saw him grow like a weed. He was here all the time, day in, day out, hanging out in the locker room, hanging out with the players out on the field, in the equipment room. He was part of this team . . . I'm a father of three. I couldn't fathom it."

Tony Dungy, a college quarterback at Minnesota who played for two years as a defensive back with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the late 1970s, became the NFL's third black head coach of the modern era when he was hired by Tampa Bay in 1996. One of the league's premier defensive minds, he is also one of the game's most admired head coaches.

The Colts clinched the AFC South Division championship and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a victory in Jacksonville two weeks ago. Their attempt to become the league's first undefeated team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins ended Sunday in a 26-17 loss at home to the San Diego Chargers. The Colts were expected to use their starters sparingly in their final two regular season games in order to enter the postseason at full strength for a run at a Super Bowl championship.

"Tony made it clear to both myself and Jim [Irsay, the team owner] that he wished for the organization and the team to carry on, and we will have the greatest role model there is in Tony Dungy," Polian said. "As Jim said to the team this morning, 'We'll emulate our leader. We'll do what he does and what he wishes.' "

Messages of sympathy and support for the Dungy family came from around the NFL.

Herman Edwards, head coach of the New York Jets and an assistant under Dungy at Tampa Bay, told reporters: "The whole family is good people. You know Tony, how he raised a family. A tragedy."

Tampa Bay linebacker Shelton Quarles said, "Football definitely comes second. That's one of the things Coach Dungy said was that if you ever had a problem that was taking you away from football, then you need to go home and take care of family first, then come back and deal with football. He was a true believer in that."