Ryan meets with Dungy
Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, left, talks with New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi (28) and pitching coach Dave Eiland before the game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. (Sept. 25, 2010) Credit: John Dunn
Tony Dungy met with Jets coach Rex Ryan in person yesterday, one month after the former Indianapolis Colts coach made waves by criticizing Ryan for his rampant use of expletives on HBO's "Hard Knocks.''
Ryan said at the time he thought Dungy "unfairly judged'' him and extended an invite to visit him at Jets camp. Dungy took Ryan up on that offer Saturday morning before the Jets left for Miami.
Dungy, who later appeared at Yankee Stadium to give a motivational speech to the Yankees, declined to discuss his meeting with Ryan, saying only that he visited Jets camp "on a personal note'' and not for business related to his analyst role on NBC's "Football Night in America.''
"I'll have to let him talk about that," Dungy said of his chat with Ryan. "I cannot say a word about that."
A Jets spokesman confirmed Dungy and Ryan met but declined further comment, saying Dungy will address their conversation during NBC's broadcast of the Jets-Dolphins game tonight.
Ryan initially extended the invite to Dungy when they spoke Aug. 19, three days after Dungy said in a radio interview that if he were a general manager, he wouldn't hire a coach who cursed as much as Ryan did on television. Dungy also said he thought NFL commissioner Roger Goodell should speak with Ryan about his language.
After having what he described as a "man-to-man" phone call with Dungy, Ryan also said, "I look forward to having him come up and see what we're all about."
