Tony Dungy understands how Chicago Bears fans feel. The team is going nowhere in 2022. They’re 3-10 with four games to play and are already eliminated from the playoffs. The only thing they have to cheer for at this point is clinching a higher draft choice. Shouldn’t the remaining month be about roster evaluation rather than trying too hard to win games? Dungy doesn’t think so. It isn’t a surprise the Hall of Fame coach believes winning games is infinitely more valuable than seeking a higher draft slot.
However, he did offer valid reasons for this. He was in a similar situation to Matt Eberflus in 1996. It was his first year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The team lost eight of their first nine games. At that point, common sense dictated the team should close up shop and go after the #1 pick. Dungy disagreed. He knew that if his team was ever going to pursue a championship, they had to get used to winning late in a season. So he came to them with a message in mid-November that year, as he explained on the Under Center podcast.
Tony Dungy also knows top 5 picks aren’t required for champions.
That Buccaneers team is a perfect example. It would go on to win the Super Bowl in 2002. Their core featured guys like Warren Sapp (12th pick), Derrick Brooks (28th pick), Mike Alstott (2nd round), John Lynch (3rd round), Ronde Barber (3rd round), Keyshawn Johnson (free agent), and Simeon Rice (free agent). In fact, the Buccaneers still managed to draft Pro Bowl running back Warrick Dunn in 1997 despite dropping to the 12th overall pick. They also landed Barber in that same class. Smart organizations can draft well regardless of their positioning.
If the Bears finish bad enough to hold a top 3 pick, that’s great. It gives them a premium chance to find a blue-chip talent for their roster. However, it shouldn’t be done at the expense of trying to win. Tony Dungy knows how hard those players already on the roster work. It does them a disservice and sends the wrong message if you’re not trying like hell to be victorious every Sunday. To his credit, Eberflus has done precisely that. Six of the Bears’ ten losses this season have been by one score. They’ve been in almost every game. It must be about learning to close them out now.
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