Tony Dungy

The death of the 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy has been ruled a suicide, a medical examiner said yesterday. James Dungy hanged himself from a bedroom ceiling fan with a leather belt, Dr. Jacqueline Lee of the Hillsborough County (Fla.) Medical Examiner's Office wrote in her final autopsy report. Authorities had ruled out foul play in December, but toxicology results were pending. Those tests were negative, except for caffeine and medication paramedics used in attempts to resuscitate the teen, Lee said.

A loss by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Eagles in today's NFC wild-card playoff game will lead to the dismissal of coach Tony Dungy, unless owner Malcolm Glazer has a last-minute change of heart, the St. Petersburg Times reported yesterday. In addition, there are indications the Bucs have a tentative agreement with Bill Parcells to replace Dungy, the newspaper said, citing interviews with people close to Parcells, the Bucs and the NFL. Parcells, a two-time Super Bowl winner, is expected to sign a five-year deal that would make him the highest-paid coach in the NFL, should Dungy be fired.

James Dungy, 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, hanged himself with a leather belt from a ceiling fan, according to the 911 call made by the teenager's girlfriend from his Lutz, Fla., apartment in the early-morning hours of Dec. 22. Antoinette Anderson said she took a 10-minute walk and returned to the apartment to find Dungy lifeless, according to the 911 tape released Wednesday by a Hillsborough County (Fla.) Sheriff's Department official and published yesterday by the Indianapolis Star.

Jim Caldwell, the Indianapolis Colts quarterbacks coach, yesterday was promoted to assistant head coach. Caldwell was the coach at Wake Forest from 1993 to 2000 and was on Colts coach Tony Dungy's staff at Tampa Bay in 2001. He came to Indianapolis with Dungy the next season. Caldwell, who played defensive back at Iowa, also was an assistant at Southern Illinois, Northwestern, Colorado, Louisville, and Penn State. He will continue coaching the Colts' quarterbacks. Vikings.

Dick Vermeil said yesterday that he's eager to talk to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie about his future with the team - though that doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to say yes to returning to the Eagles. "I'm still vacillating," said Vermeil, who may have broadcast his last game with ABC-TV here last night. "I don't know what I'm going to do. " Vermeil plans to return to his Chester County home today to discuss matters with his wife, Carol. Those close to him say he is leaning toward returning to the NFL if he and Lurie can work out a deal.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers seem to be in the corner of coach Tony Dungy, whose future has been the subject of speculation all season. Dungy has guided the Bucs to a 55-41 record in six seasons, including a 2-3 playoff record and an appearance in the 1999 NFC Championship Game. Nevertheless, the team is regarded as underachievers. Dungy has one more year on his contract. He and his agent, Ray Anderson, approached owner Malcolm Glazer and his son, Joel, an executive vice president, about an extension at the start of the season.

Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy reportedly met with owner Jim Irsay yesterday and will decide today whether he will stay with the team. According to ESPN, Dungy's family will figure heavily in his decision. Dungy, apparently isn't sure he wants to spend another season commuting from Indianapolis to Tampa, Fla., to see his wife and children. Dungy and his wife, Lauren, were to spend the past week mulling his future. But, it is uncertain how much time they spent on the decision because they had to go to New York where their son Jordan underwent surgery on a broken leg. Jordan is back in Tampa, doing well after surgery.

The Washington Redskins fired Marty Schottenheimer last night after one season and were close to hiring former Florida coach Steve Spurrier as his replacement. Spurrier and the team have an "agreement in principle" on a five-year contract worth about $25 million, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said on condition of anonymity. The Redskins also will hire a general manager or someone with a similar title. Schottenheimer will receive the $7.5 million remaining on the four-year, $10 million contract he signed a year ago. Under Schottenheimer, the Redskins recovered from an 0-5 start this season to finish 8-8, but owner Dan Snyder was unhappy with some of the coach's personnel moves.

Dick Jauron didn't need to attend Yale to learn what it'll take to make his second stint as an NFL head coach more successful than his first. "In our business, it comes out in wins and losses. And if you win, it was a great decision. And if you don't win, it was not a great decision," Jauron said yesterday after being hired by the Buffalo Bills. "And we know that our back is against the wall to win. " Jauron coached the Chicago Bears for five seasons, going 35-46 with one playoff appearance before being fired in 2003.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coaching search appeared near an end yesterday when Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Tony Dungy arrived in Tampa and met with team owner Malcolm Glazer. Dungy is the leading candidate for the job, vacated by the Dec. 27 firing of Sam Wyche. Dungy, who had dinner with Glazer last night, was optimistic yesterday during an interview on One on One Sports Radio Network in Northbrook, Ill., where he was an analyst during the NFL playoffs. "I'm going to meet with Mr. Glazer . . . and, hopefully, that will go well and I think we'll be on our way. " Team officials continued to deny a Tampa Tribune report that an offer had been made.

SO, LET'S GET this straight: The New Orleans Saints run a bounty scheme for the past 3 years, win a Super Bowl with it, get caught, their excellent head coach gets suspended . . . And they wind up with a better head coach? This is justice? Somehow, it doesn't seem likely that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell expected the Saints to become a more respected team when he played hangin' judge last week. Goodell suspended Sean Payton for 10 months, beginning April 1, unless Payton appeals.

THE SUCCESS OF Michael Vick's comeback was not foreseen on that day in 2009. It was hard to imagine past the camera trucks convened at the NovaCare Complex, and the extra complement of security guards, and the protesters chanting at the gate. Any number of descriptions were painted that day: misguided, insulting, gimmick, waste of time, long shot. No one saw it as a potential model. Fast-forward now, two summers. Another jail sentence is finished. The player this time is Plaxico Burress, the former Giants wide receiver.

According to reports, the Seattle Seahawks either have or haven't already reached an agreement to hire Pete Carroll as their new head coach. But a deal seems imminent. ESPN, citing multiple NFL sources, reported Carroll and the team have a deal in principle that could be announced as early as today. The Associated Press, however, reported there is no deal yet and that talks may continue into today. Seattle fired head coach Jim Mora Friday. Both ESPN and AP reported that the Seahawks are preparing to interview candidates for their general manager's position.

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.

Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy says Michael Vick wants a second chance when he's out of prison. In recent weeks, Dungy met with Vick at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., where Vick is serving a 23-month sentence for bankrolling a dogfighting conspiracy. Dungy spoke yesterday at a workshop in Indianapolis for offenders seeking jobs. Dungy didn't discuss details of his visit with Vick, but told the Associated Press that the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback made a mistake.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers fired coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen yesterday after the team collapsed following a 9-3 start and failed to make the playoffs. Gruden, who helped lead the Buccaneers to a victory over the Oakland Raiders in the 2003 Super Bowl, was Tampa Bay's coach for 7 years. Allen was general manager for the last five seasons. "We will be forever grateful to Jon for bringing us the Super Bowl title, and we thank Bruce for his contributions to our franchise," Buccaneers co-chairman Joel Glazer said in a statement.

Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy reportedly met with owner Jim Irsay yesterday and will decide today whether he will stay with the team. According to ESPN, Dungy's family will figure heavily in his decision. Dungy, apparently isn't sure he wants to spend another season commuting from Indianapolis to Tampa, Fla., to see his wife and children. Dungy and his wife, Lauren, were to spend the past week mulling his future. But, it is uncertain how much time they spent on the decision because they had to go to New York where their son Jordan underwent surgery on a broken leg. Jordan is back in Tampa, doing well after surgery.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who led his team to nine consecutive victories and a wild-card berth in the NFL playoffs, was named the league's most valuable player by the Associated Press yesterday. It is the third time the 11-year veteran has been so honored, and he tied Brett Favre for claiming the award the most. "I really feel like it's a team award," said Manning, who was 209-of-290 passing for 2,248 yards and 17 touchdowns, with only three interceptions during the Colts' streak to the postseason.

One day after practice during the 2006 season, Tony Dungy was telling me how little he knew about Marvin Harrison, a man he had coached in Indianapolis since 2002. It wasn't a negative, and it wasn't for lack of trying on Dungy's part. Harrison simply is relentlessly private, a man few know or understand outside of his family and close circle of friends. "I think I know his mother better than I know him," Dungy said at the time, "and I've talked to his mom probably four times. . . . I respect his privacy because that's the way he wants it. " Then Dungy spoke as if reciting something Harrison had told him: "I'm going to give you everything I've got all the time.

Assistant head coach Jim Caldwell would replace Tony Dungy if the Indianapolis Colts coach retires, team owner Jim Irsay said last night. Irsay hopes Dungy will return and expects to speak to him this weekend, the owner said at a party celebrating an exhibition of the Jack Kerouac "On The Road" manuscript he owns at The New York Public Library. Irsay said he might be able to make accommodations for Dungy such as allowing him to attend his son's high school football games in Florida on Friday nights.