ESPN.com news services 18y

Dungy's son, 18, found dead in Tampa suburb

NFL, Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

James Dungy, the 18-year-old son of Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, was found dead in a Tampa-area apartment Thursday.

"Based on evidence at the scene, indications are that this
death appears to be a suicide," Sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. "There is no evidence to contradict that at this time." Police said there was no note found.

Dr. Jacqueline Lee, an Associate Medical Examiner at the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner Department, conducted the autopsy of James Dungy on Friday. She noted no evidence of foul play and has ordered additional studies to include histology (microscopic examination of tissue) and toxicology.

Until such time as the toxicology results are received, normally four to six weeks, the cause and manner of death are listed as pending.

Typically, autopsy reports are available within six to eight weeks.

James Dungy's girlfriend found him when she returned to the
Campus Lodge Apartments at about 1:30 a.m., Carter said.

He wasn't breathing, and a sheriff's deputy performed CPR before
an ambulance rushed him to University Community Hospital, Carter
said. He was pronounced dead there.

Carter said "nothing evident" was amiss in the apartment, but
declined to discuss details.

An autopsy was not immediately performed because the Dungy family wanted to donate James Dungy's tissue and organs, Dick Bailey, office manager for the medical examiner, told the Tampa Tribune.

Tony Dungy has left the Colts and is in Tampa. The Colts (13-1)
are at Seattle on Saturday, and team president Bill Polian said
that assistant head coach Jim Caldwell has taken over for Dungy.

Indianapolis lost its first game Sunday against the visiting San
Diego Chargers, ending what had been a perfect season.

"The thoughts and prayers of everyone in this building are with
Tony and [wife] Lauren, their children and their extended family,
and for the repose of James' soul," Polian said at a news
conference at the Colts' training facility in Indianapolis. "This
is a tragedy for the Dungy family and by extension his football
family here with the Colts."

"It certainly keeps things in perspective," two-time MVP
quarterback Peyton Manning said. "Players with families, it
certainly hits home. Coach Dungy's close to a lot of these players.
... Players feel close to him as well as his family."

Owner Jim Irsay and Polian met with team officials and players
to break the news.

"It was not easy, and it was somber, to say the least," Polian
said.

Caldwell will take over "for however long Tony will be away and
however long he will be away is entirely up to him," Polian added.

Chaplains were brought in to talk with the team.

"I don't think there's anyone here that would wish to play a
football game under these circumstances, but it's our obligation
and we'll fulfill that obligation because that's what Tony wants us
to do," Polian said.

The Dungys have four other children: daughters Tiara and Jade, and sons Eric and Jordan. James, their second-oldest child, was
taking extension classes at the University of South Florida, the
sheriff's office said.

James Dungy spent his senior year at North Central High School
in Indianapolis and graduated this year. C.E. Quandt, the school's
principal, said Dungy was a personable student who never flaunted
his father's position.

"He just came in and tried to blend in and be a student,"
Quandt said. "I liked James a lot."

Quandt said Dungy visited North Central a week or two ago to
pick up a transcript. He said the death surprised and saddened
everyone at the school.

"It kind of diminishes our school family," he said.

A woman who answered the door at James Dungy's girlfriend's home
declined comment Thursday.

Jessica James, 18, who described herself as a close friend of
James Dungy, said she and a group of friends went to the movies
with him Monday night.

"He was cracking jokes, just being himself," she said. "This
morning, it was so surreal."

She said Dungy "was just a really good kid, very laid-back.
Unless you asked him, you'd never know he was Tony Dungy's son."

James stood 6-foot-7 and was sometimes was mistaken for one of
his father's players, The Indianapolis Star reported on its Web
site. James and his younger brother Eric sometimes watched Colts games from the sidelines, but they had to earn it by doing well in
school.

The mood was also somber at the Buccaneers' practice facility
Thursday, which is next to the airport where the Colts' plane that
brought Tony Dungy to Florida was parked for a time. Players and
coaches could see the plane from the practice field.

"It shakes you, there's no doubt about it. Tony and I first
came together in 1992 and I got to see the boy grow up. ... Tony's
got tremendous faith, and that's what will carry Tony through,"
said Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who worked for Dungy
at Tampa Bay. "He's unbelievable. I know what Tony's thinking. I
know how he'll handle it. It'll be his faith that will let him
stand strong, but that doesn't mean it's easy."

James Dungy was a frequent visitor to the Bucs' practices and
games when his dad coached the team.

"He was here all the time, hanging out in the locker room and
with the players on the field," fullback Mike Alstott said. "If
James wasn't here, it was like: `Where's James?' He was part of
this football team.

"There's no words to describe it. I'm a father of three and I
can't imagine getting a phone call or being told that."

New York Jets coach Herman Edwards, one of Dungy's closest
friends, called James a "very, very good kid.

"The whole family is good people. You know Tony, how he raised
a family," Edwards said from Jets training camp in Hempstead, N.Y.
"A tragedy. I know the prayers of the National Football League go
out to him and his family."

Arizona coach Dennis Green, who was Minnesota's head coach when
Dungy was the team's defensive coordinator, said he was
"devastated" to hear the news.

"It seems like just yesterday when we were all together in
Minnesota," Green said in a statement. "I remember James, who was
about 6 or 7 at the time, just loved being around the facility and
the team and most of all being around his dad."

Philadelphia coach Andy Reid said his team's thoughts and
prayers were going out to Dungy.

"You hate to see anything like this happen," Reid said.
"Nobody likes to see that. Tony's a great person with a great
family."

Fans posted prayers and messages of support for Dungy, who also
coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on a message board on a Colts fan
Web site.

"Not only was he a great football coach for the Bucs, but he is
an even better person," one Tampa Bay fan wrote. "It makes me
sick that it happened at this time of year to a person that is so
giving and caring."

Bucs owner Malcolm Glazer said that his team, for which Dungy previously worked, would observe a moment of silence prior to Saturday's Falcons-Bucs game, the Indianapolis Star reported Friday.

A day earlier, ESPN's Steve Levy reported the Seahawks, who host the Colts on Saturday, will also observe a moment of silence.

Dungy took over as coach of the Colts in 2002. His first head
coaching stint was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996-2001; he
was an assistant with the Minnesota Vikings from 1992-95.

Two other NFL head coaches lost close family members this
season, both in November. Don Parcells, brother of Dallas Cowboys
coach Bill Parcells, died of brain cancer in New Jersey at age 62;
Steve Belichick, father of New England Patriots' coach Bill
Belichick, died at 86.

The funeral for James Dungy will be held on Tuesday in Tampa.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

^ Back to Top ^