Used to responding to questions from the media, Buccaneers Head Coach Tony Dungy answered to Buccaneer fans on Thursday
On Monday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Tony Dungy watched his team kick off its annual offseason conditioning program. In less than a month, the Bucs must be ready for the NFL Draft. Just last week, Dungy attended a series of NFL Competition Committee meetings, taking a time out to attend a press conference that heralded the re-signing of TE Dave Moore. Over the last six weeks, Dungy's team has searched for and found a new offensive coordinator, several new parts to its offensive line and a back-up quarterback.
Perhaps that's why Tim of Punta Gorda wants to know if Dungy is 'getting some much-needed rest.'
With the help of Buccaneers.com, Tim got the chance to pose that question to Coach Dungy on Thursday. In the second of its user-driven 'Your Turn' series of interviews, Dungy answered 20 inquiries submitted by Buc fans from around the country and the globe. Those questions were selected from more than 900 submissions, with a heavy representation from the Tampa Bay area but interest from as far as the West Coast and even Spain.
Now, you can watch the video of Dungy's answers to those questions by clicking here. You can also read a full written transcript of the interview by clicking here.
Users whose questions were selected for Dungy's interview were notified by e-mail and their names and hometowns were included in the interview by the moderator. Topics ranged from the development of second-year quarterback Shaun King to the Buccaneers' focus at the recent NFL combine to the Bucs' efforts to advance to Super Bowl XXXV.
Included in what Buccaneer fans wanted to know was…
...does the team expect to continue its upswing in creating turnovers?
"That's something we are going to try to keep going," said Dungy. "That's something we've stressed ever since we've been here, and it really wasn't until midseason of '99 that we really got it going at the pace that I thought we should. We've got guys who have the ability to create turnovers, we've got a lot of speed on defense. It's something we practice and we work on, and we have from day one in '96 when we got here. But I think that the feeling among the players is that now that we've got it, we've got to keep it going, because turnovers really equal wins in the NFL."
...what role will DT Anthony 'Booger' McFarland play?
"Booger came here and, really playing behind Warren Sapp and Brad Culpepper and learning our system, I thought had a great first year," said Dungy. "He might not have had the stats that many first-year players have, but he allowed those guys to rotate and stay fresh. Because of him and Marcus Jones, we had fresh linemen in at the end of the game and in our fourth quarters we played outstanding football. He's going to be a big part of that, but I see his production going up a little bit and his playing time going up a little bit, and I think he's going to be a guy that's capable of having a double-digit sack year."
...and much more.
Buccaneers.com is only getting started with Your Turn. A regular feature, Your Turn will periodically feature a new, prominent guest, and will ask the users to supply the questions. A recent Buccaneers.com poll indicated that both General Manager Rich McKay and Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin would be popular guests, so they will be the next two members of the Buccaneer organize featured on Your Turn, beginning with McKay on Friday, March 31. Users may begin submitting questions for McKay immediately using the Your Turn console on the home page.
