Dungy helped seal the deal between Eagles, Vick

THEY SHARE a bond beyond being highly successful coaches in the National Football League.

Tony Dungy, who became the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl, and Eagles coach Andy Reid have had their own personal battles through the years that are far more important than any they've faced on the field.

Dungy's son, James, took his own life in 2005 at age 18. Reid's sons, Garrett and Britt, have battled legal and drug problems for a few years now.

Perhaps that unfortunate bond is what helped land embattled quarterback Michael Vick on the Eagles roster. The Birds signed Vick to a contract on Thursday night, just a few months after he served an 18-month federal prison term for running a dogfighting operation.

Dungy, who led the Colts to the championship in 2007 and retired after last season, has mentored young players for 13 years. He sat on the dais at the NovaCare Complex yesterday at a news conference with Reid and Vick, whom he is advising as the former Atlanta Falcon tries to get his life in order.

Reid said he had thought about Vick's playing on his team for a long time.

Owner Jeff Lurie, a dog lover, needed some major convincing to approve the signing of Vick. Dungy provided it.

"Coach Dungy is somebody, who there's only a handful of people in the NFL that I just completely respect their integrity, their honesty, and their commitment to doing the right thing in the community," Lurie said. "Tony has spent so much time in prisons, so much time dealing with people that, for whatever reason, did horrendous things. He was absolutely 100 percent sure that there was an opportunity here if Michael could be in the right situation to do societal good."

Lurie talked openly of his hesitance to give his approval to Reid to sign the 29-year-old Vick, citing his extreme love of canines.

The one settling influence for the owner seemed to be Dungy.

Dungy and Vick met in 2004 in Japan while promoting a game between the Falcons and the Colts, Dungy said. They talked of getting together, but it did not happen. Dungy thinks that if it had, Vick's troubles might have been nipped in the bud.