Tony Dungy joining our CSU Football Coaches Bible Study (Top Middle)
After I was done playing football at CSU I joined Coach Sonny Lubick’s staff as a student assistant. I was able to come alongside the coaches in prepping for games and helping players navigate life in college. It was actually within those two years working on the sidelines where the Lord made it clear that my ultimate purpose in life wasn’t coaching the game of football but coaching WITHIN the game of Football and now, that’s where I find myself. As I step back and see where I am today, I am amazed that I get to serve the Denver Broncos as their chaplain, I lead the University of Colorado football coaches in a weekly bible study online and disciple CSU football players and coaches. There are a few coaches that were held over from Coach Bobo’s staff when there was a coaching change and thankfully, I was already in relationship with these two coaches, so we stared a Bible Study back in the Spring.
The group has grown to 4 football coaches and we meet weekly on Zoom at 6am on Wednesday mornings. I was sharing this with one of my good friends who serves in pro ministry with me, Tom Lamphere. He is our AIA chaplain with the Minnesota Vikings and is very close with Tony Dungy.
When I was telling him about the CSU Coach’s Bible Study he asked if I thought Tony would ever be a good person to have on the call. I responded as calmly as I could, “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? I think he would be just fine”
Our CSU coaches were thrilled to have Coach Dungy on the call. He shared his testimony on how Tom Lamphere discipled him and walked him through the book of Nehemiah when he was an assistant with the Vikings. He emphasized the importance of being grounded in God’s Word as a man and shared about his first players meeting when he was a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The legendary Steelers coach, Chuck Knoll gathered all the rookies around and told them, “Football is not who you are, it’s what you do. You better find something that defines you besides football.”
Coach Dungy told our CSU coach’s the same thing. To see the looks on their faces talking with a coaching legend encouraging them to walk with Jesus and dive headfirst into our weekly Bible Study was awesome.