Father Dungy Blesses Marcus Mariota For Bucs
December 15th, 2014
Bucs icon Father Dungy is endorsing potential NFL stud quarterbacks again.
In March, Dungy gave his full backing to Johnny Football, saying, “If I’m committed to winning, I’d take him.”
Today, per NFL.com, Dungy blessed University of Oregon gunslinger Marcus Mariota as a future superstar. And Dungy took it a step further. He named a certain floundering Florida football team as a top destination.
Dungy was on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Monday morning and gushed about Mariota, calling him “Aaron Rodgers in the waiting.” He also said Mariota would be “perfect” for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who presumably will be interested in drafting a quarterback and should have one of the earlier picks in the draft.
Dungy coached the Bucs from 1996-2001 before moving on to coach the Indianapolis Colts from 2002-08; he guided the Colts to the Super Bowl title in the ’06 season.
Dungy knows a lot about Mariota: Dungy’s son, Eric, was a wide receiver at Oregon from 2011-13 before finishing his career this season at USF.
So there you have it. Father Dungy has issued his blessing, not long after he stated the Bucs should be starting Mike Glennon.
December 15th, 2014 at 11:51 am
Does Dungy know quarterbacks? Hmmm
December 15th, 2014 at 11:53 am
Oh great, more homerism takes. Who the hell cares?
December 15th, 2014 at 12:01 pm
Approach this advice with caution. When was the last time Dungy developed a QB?
December 15th, 2014 at 12:14 pm
Meh, who cares. He is right though. 6’4″ 4.4 forty great attitude, smarter then Vick, more disciplined than Kapernick. The only reason to go 2-14. Bonus: you don’t need a good o-line!
December 15th, 2014 at 12:19 pm
That’s highly false. Vick even needed a line
December 15th, 2014 at 12:20 pm
“Does Dungy know quarterbacks? Hmmm”
He spent a little bit of time around Peyton Manning if I recall…
December 15th, 2014 at 12:21 pm
Firing Lovie and drafting Mariota could work for sure. Offensive mindeed HC and a new QB has a chance. A coach who believes in winnning 20-17 drafting a QB? Sounds like it’ll be a failure.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:21 pm
@unbelievable – FWIW, Dungy was a QB in college.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:23 pm
Dungy had zero to do with Peyton mannings development. please don’t reach. plus with the talent the colts had they should have won more than one superbowl with james, manning and the gun toting wr i cant’ remember his name anyhow. Dungy might be the only person less qualified than Lovie to suggest or evaluate qb’s… that’s not hating that is fact.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:24 pm
I tried to fight it, but I no longer am able – I’m on the Mariota bandwagon. Yes, I’m biased, but we all are I think. I’m not sure he’ll be a great NFL QB, but I am 100% certain he will be better than McClown and Glennon. We don’t have to worry about him raping women or stealing crab legs either. SUCK FOR THE DUCK!
December 15th, 2014 at 12:26 pm
theodore Says:
December 15th, 2014 at 12:21 pm
@unbelievable – FWIW, Dungy was a QB in college.
—–
If you want to call it that, an option QB at Minnesota that was drafted solely for his potential as a DB.
In his defense, he inherited Trent Dilfer, got good performance by a rookie QB and future donut king in Shaun King, and then he brought in Brad Johnson who then won a Super Bowl in his 2nd season (or was it his 3rd?)… in all, Dungy coached 3 different QBs that won Super Bowls. He knows QBs.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:29 pm
tmaxcon Says:
December 15th, 2014 at 12:23 pm
Dungy had zero to do with Peyton mannings development. please don’t reach. plus with the talent the colts had they should have won more than one superbowl with james, manning and the gun toting wr i cant’ remember his name anyhow. Dungy might be the only person less qualified than Lovie to suggest or evaluate qb’s… that’s not hating that is fact.
——
Most of the Colts resources went to the offense and Peyton Manning and very few resources (free agency and draft) went to the defense, yet the defense was consistently a top 10 unit…and it wasn’t the defense that choked in the playoff games, it was Manning.
Anybody that can’t remember Marvin Harrison’s name is thoroughly unqualfied to give a respectable opinion on Dungy.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:33 pm
Unless drafting Manning or Luck, qb position is always a crap shoot. I do like Mariota though, 68% completion percentage, 38 touchdown passes to 2 interceptions. Unlike GG3 and Kapernick, I think Mariota will develop into a taller version of Russel Wilson. He has the smarts, moves well, and throws a nice catchable ball. I just don’t trust Lovie to pull the trigger though.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:34 pm
Sorry but Dungy won 1 Super Bowl with 1 quarterback. And manning was already manning before Dungy got there.
You’re really going to bring up Trent Dilfer? He was terrible in Tampa and the ravens D won that Super Bowl, Dilfer was lucky to ride along.
I love Dungy but he would not be my first source for QB advice.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:35 pm
I’m actually starting to get on 87’s side for Jameis over Mariota. Jameis may act a fool but at least he’s coming in from a pro style offense. Spread QBs continue to flounder in the NFL while those from the pro style tend to do much better. If you look at the top 10 or even top 15 QBs in the NFL almost all of them are dropback QBs who came from pro style offenses.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:39 pm
@unbelievable Does Dungy know quarterbacks? I’m willing to bet he picked up a thing or two from Manning. Oh that’s right, the head coach only focuses on defense.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:46 pm
Brandon — some of us have lives and jobs and keeping up with rosters of dungy’s ex players is not a priority of mine. I am sure that you have never had a name on the tip of your tongue that you could not remember… Hopefully your a colts fan and not an Obama 99 weeker sitting on your arse on my dime reading football news all day. You get so butt hurt every time someone legitimately criticizes dungy or lovie. are you related to one of them???? No doubt both are great guys but like all of us they have faults.
I was not defending manning but to suggest dungy developed manning is asinine. Manning is a fantasy qb that can’t win big games on his own like brady or Montana could. He will let bronco fans down again this year and cost John Fox his job. No team in the league is win now mode more than denver.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:46 pm
Dungy is a Pure and Simple Homophobic his comments against Michael Sam should have been enough to run him off the air. But because of Reverse PC that is not possible.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:49 pm
Brandon Scherff
December 15th, 2014 at 12:50 pm
Joe,
Dungy also gave Freeman a big endorsement.
Essentially said Freeman didn’t need his help because he was such a good person off the field and stayed out of trouble lol.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:51 pm
STFU dungy.
kiffin , sapp, lynch, brooks made you.
Gruden did what you didn’t, and Manning was the lead man in Indy.
he’s irrelevant.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:51 pm
I want Mariota. If you don’t have a franchise QB, you don’t pass up a shot at one. Yes, he might bust, but if you don’t have a QB you have worse than nothing.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:52 pm
If any of you remember, when Dungy went to the Colts it was hands off the offense, it was Tom Moore’s offense. Dungy doesn’t know squat about offense or we would have had a few Super Bowls for the Bucs.
Mariota is nothing more than a Kaepernick Clone. Name 1 QB from Oregon that has EVER made it in the NFL. I don’t buy the Mariota idea. I’d take my chances on Jameis Winston before Mariota. (see how well Johnny Football did this weekend)
December 15th, 2014 at 12:55 pm
Rob Says: ““Does Dungy know quarterbacks? Hmmm” He spent a little bit of time around Peyton Manning if I recall…”
Rob, that means nothing because you recall it, Dungy was brought in for defensive reasons for the Colts and that was the only reason. He doesn’t know squat about offense. If he did we’d have more than 1 championship here with the D we had. Best D of all time and only 1 ring? We never had an O back then thanks to him.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:57 pm
To me Mariota is more NFL-ready, whereas Winston is raw talent. Winston is reckless with the ball, but is also a little spitfire of confidence and determination which keeps his team alive late in the game. IMO Winston has a slightly higher ceiling, but Mariota is closer to his ceiling than Jameis. That extra year really helped Mariota, and to think he would likely be getting slaughtered on the Raiders or Jags instead of winning the Heisman had he declared. I think Jameis should do the same.
My biggest fear is not whether or not Liar Smith pulls the trigger, but that he might ruin either of these 2 QB’s careers because he has no clue in hell how to develop a QB or a half decent offense. I really hope we get a great OC.
December 15th, 2014 at 12:59 pm
Oh, so Manning taught Dungy how to evaluate college QBs? Interesting, I never knew that.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:00 pm
Ah well I’m glad to see some people with some sense have joined the conversation now.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:03 pm
Dungy has no cred on the offensive side of the ball. Takes this article down, Joe.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:05 pm
Actually, one of the articles that Joe posted here said Jameis was playing in a spread offense. “Florida State plays from mostly a spread offense with some snaps from under center. They run and pass from both formations.” -NFP
Also, are you saying that Brees, Manning, Brady are all bad receivers? Brees played a spread type offense in college. Manning, Brady, and Rogers all run a spread type offense in the NFL. I believe that Foles also came from a spread offense in college. Hell, Joe Montana ran a triple option offense in college.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:10 pm
MariotaOrWinstonOrWalkdaPlank
Jameis has been in a pro offense for years while Mariota has zero experience in reading pro defense. I’d prefer Winston
December 15th, 2014 at 1:10 pm
@SkiBucsFan,
I agree with you he has a lot of similarities to Kaepernick in that he is about the same size, and does have a similar style of play. However, there are a lot of differences as well. First of all, Kaepernick wasn’t half the college QB that Mariota is. I saw a sh!t ton of Kaepernick in college (living in Hawaii we are forced to watch a lot of WAC football), and I never saw him as a NFL QB. He was very inaccurate, and very inconsistent. He rose up draft boards during the combine and his pro day. Mariota has been a stud from day 1. He is more accurate (although he still has some accuracy issues that concern me a little), and more consistent (38 TD’s to only 2 picks is ridiculous, I don’t care what type of offense you run).
All that being said, what separates him is his attitude. Kaepernick got his money and fame, and you can see he has changed. He is more concerned about his hats matching his outfit (wearing a Dolphins hat when you Qb the 49ers???!!!) and what type of headphones he is wearing, rather than getting better as a QB. That’s why he has regressed. He went Hollywood, just like RG3. Mariota won’t do that. He’ll be the first one in the building and the last one out. He will be more like Russell Wilson than Kaepernick when it comes to his attitude and work ethic. This is the area where QB’s are made. Name me a great QB that is known as a slacker. All the greats have legendary work ethics.
As for not one QB from Oregon making it, that’s stupid. There’s always a first. At one point, you could say that about every school. Before Flacco, how many from Deleware made it? Before Brees, how many from Purdue made it? Before Manning, how many from Tennessee made it (there may be guys I’m not thinking of from those schools, but hopefully you get the point I’m making)? It’s not like Oregon has been running the same offensive system for 100 years. That philosophy is almost as stupid as saying red-headed QB’s can never be successful.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Dungy recomended Lovie too…..
December 15th, 2014 at 1:13 pm
Running a pro offense and reading a pro defense are two different things.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:14 pm
It does not matter what pick the Buc’s get and which QB they choose. I would prefer Marcus Mariota over the Rapist Winston, but either way if the Buc’s don’t change coaches it will not be ANY different!
JIM HARBAUGH COULD TAKE THE BUC’S ROSTER AND BEAT THE OTHER GUYS ROSTER!. HARBAUGH COULD THEN TAKE THE OTHER GUYS ROSTER AND BEAT THE BUC’S ROSTER! THAT IS THE COACH WE NEED! FIRE LOVIE! STOP THIS NON-SENSE NOW OR IT IS JUST GOING TO BE THE SAME NEXT YEAR
I have to believe Mariota would choose to spend his senior year at Oregon if Lovie is the HC and the Buc’s get the #1 pick! Ask him!! I am not saying the Buc’s are a bad place to play, I am clearly saying playing for Lovie is a career killer!
December 15th, 2014 at 1:14 pm
Great I was just warming up to the idea of possibly drafting Mariota and then Dungy has to go and ruin it by giving his “QB whisperer” endorsement! Didn’t one of Dungy’s kids play at Oregon? Might factor in favorably if he has some insider knowledge of Mariota’s off field character? Regardless he seems a far safer pick than Crab Legs…shear physical talent isn’t everything at the NFL level
December 15th, 2014 at 1:15 pm
I rather have Winston as our quarterback.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:17 pm
FSU runs a spread offense people. Get used to it. Yes he takes snaps from center, but that doesn’t make it a pro style offense.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:26 pm
NO HE DIDNT!- but he is a bigtime! analist. now hahahahahahahahaha! lmfao.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:31 pm
It makes little difference if Dungy knows QBs….it doen’t take knowledge of QBs to suggest Mariota would be a good choice for the Bucs…..after all….don’t we have the 5th best QB in the division?
Most analysts would suggest Mariota for us….Most fans 80/20 choose him over Winston.
The question is (if we select at #1) will Lovie & Licht & the new OC pull the trigger on Mariota or will we trade to someone who wants him worse and will give us the farm to get him.
A drop down to 5 and picking up a 2nd & 3rd rounder in the process would be nice……at 5 we could get an impact player and with the other picks, fill a bunch of needs.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:32 pm
should say that they ran hybrid type spread offense.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:37 pm
Did anyone hear this weekend the story about when he (Mariota) was working at the grocery store and a fat woman wanted a half head of lettuce? This guy has the woman behind him, which he didn’t know, and says to the manager, “this fat woman wants a half head out of lettuce out here, then he turns and sees her standing behind him and says this woman wants the other half pointing to her.” Funny as hell.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:40 pm
Only problem with trading back is we lose out on a QB. Let’s look at current teams here.
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2-12 (.479 SOS)
2. Tennessee Titans: 2-12 (.491 SOS)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars: 2-12 (.509 SOS)
4. Oakland Raiders: 2-12 (.585 SOS)
5. Washington: 3-11 (.495 SOS)
Titans and Skins will probably want to draft a QB if they are there. Now you want to trade back to 5-6. We will miss out on QBs with that pick. Essentially what would be left for us to pick from would be a LB, DE, FS, or we could reach really high for a OL. I would rather stick with the 1st and get a QB. Now if the Titans want to trade up with us to ensure they get Mariota or Winston then fine with me. I’ll trade down a slot and take a QB.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:40 pm
I believe I know exactly what Dungy knows about qbs since this article turned into a debate about it. MORE THAN ANY OF US!
December 15th, 2014 at 1:42 pm
Greg Schiano
do a little research harbaugh is not an option. he will be back in college.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:44 pm
@Fuzzy,
Frost ended his story with “That’s not true.” Whether he meant that about the wife part of the story or the entire yarn is unclear. In all likelihood, the “anecdote” was a shopworn bar joke with Mariota inserted as the witty protagonist.
Regardless of its veracity, Frost delivered the lines in convincing fashion. This probably isn’t the best way of explaining Mariota’s ability to think quickly, but it got the point across.
December 15th, 2014 at 1:51 pm
All for Marcus Mariota….
Looking at what happened this year with Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, Who ever drafts Winston will likely not have him around long… History shows that people with sketchy Characters only get worse with money…
May the Bucs avoid drafting Jameis at all cost!
December 15th, 2014 at 2:04 pm
Suck for the Duck. Don’t waste another double digit loss season.
December 15th, 2014 at 2:04 pm
@Skyline crew,
Yeah I don’t know if that’s a true story either, but it was funny. Are you a Skyline Chili crew member? I love that place, but I’m from Cincinnati to begin with.
December 15th, 2014 at 2:07 pm
Never heard of Skyline Chili. I started using the handle when we drafted Evans and ASJ. Skyline Crew with Evans, VJax, and ASJ. As of late though it has really just been the Twin Towers.
December 15th, 2014 at 2:10 pm
Sounds like Dungy is laying the groundwork for Lovie to draft Mariotta over Winston. I concur with Father Dungy!
December 15th, 2014 at 2:10 pm
Dungy may be right, but I don’t listen to anything he says. Take either top QB if you want, just do something Lovie, because I know you’re not walking out the door. Blow it up, knock some sense into Lovie’s head. His appearance as a statue got old already. Wake up Lovie.
December 15th, 2014 at 2:24 pm
To everyone saying “suck for the Duck”, I would not worry too much because we just plain suck however who knows if they take the Duck? Whatever happens at least the offseason will be more exciting than the season as we can be “offseason winners” again until we continue to prove that we can’t evaluate and go get talent. Evans was a slam dunk if he can avoid a sophomore slump and Murray has been a pleasant surprise replacing Barth but pretty much every other move has been either very average or huge disappointments. I actually thought we would be good and Dallas would suck this season since I pull for them as my plan B team since I lived there for a while. Crazy how things work out.
December 15th, 2014 at 2:26 pm
“Dungy had zero to do with Peyton mannings development. please don’t reach. ”
That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know what a good quarterback looks like.
The reach is to say that Dungy’s endorsement of Mariota automatically means he can’t be a franchise QB.
December 15th, 2014 at 2:31 pm
Rob — Dungy’s offensive track record speaks for itself that he does not know qb’s or offense. Dungy not knowing what a good qb looks like cost the bucs 1 possibly 2 super bowls and that is from Sapp himself. I think it’s at least an debatable point that he does not know qb’s
December 15th, 2014 at 2:40 pm
Tom Brady >6th rd pic,,,,,Drew Brees 2nd rd pic….Scherf, build a line that can protect a qb and help the running game.
December 15th, 2014 at 2:48 pm
Id rather trade back and get randy gregory and cut all these losers and sign suh from the lions an awesome dline will get us farther then a rookke qb look at the rams… no qb bht awesome dline gets you wins..
December 15th, 2014 at 4:03 pm
Come Black Monday the Glazers need to get themselves the best O.C money can buy.With or without L&L’s so called final say.
December 15th, 2014 at 5:39 pm
Why would Smith hire a OC with no experience?
Then why would Licht allow Smith to hire a OC with no experience?
Then why would Owners allow Licht to allow Smith to hire an OC with no experience?
They should all be flogged and removed.
December 15th, 2014 at 6:02 pm
“Rob — Dungy’s offensive track record speaks for itself that he does not know qb’s or offense. Dungy not knowing what a good qb looks like cost the bucs 1 possibly 2 super bowls and that is from Sapp himself. I think it’s at least an debatable point that he does not know qb’s”
Yeah, his offensive track record in Tampa was no good, but after that he spent 6 years being smart enough to keep his hands off of Peyton Manning and it got him a Super Bowl ring. My point is that he’s seen what real quarterback play looks like up close, even if he’s not known as a quarterback guru. His opinion on the subject CERTAINLY carries far more weight than anyone posting in the comments section of a Bucs blog.
December 15th, 2014 at 10:44 pm
“What does Tony Dungy know about QB’s?” Well let’s see , 3+ year starter at Univ. Minn at QB, Big Tens Medal of Honor recipient 1977, Led the Steelers in interceptions during 1978 SB season. He may not be a great QB developer but I’m quite certain he knows good QB’s. Remember, Dilfer was drafted by Sam Wyche. Shaun King was a 2nd round pick with VERY poor practice and preparation skills but plenty of promise for a 2nd rounder. I’ll take Father Dungy’s word on this one.
December 15th, 2014 at 10:47 pm
Easier to evaluate when he doesn’t have to put them into action with other question marks. Still think he can evaluate a good QB when he see’s one.
December 16th, 2014 at 4:51 pm
This is how I see it as a huge Bucs fan.
1st. draft Marcus Mariota , then find a really good O.C. (not to sure who will be available ). Then spend whatever you have to on the o-line. The defense is getting better but Gerald McCoy needs help the front four well three with McCoy there a really good pass rusher or two, and special teams needs some help. But with all that said Lovie has to do a lot of work on the offensive side.