Dungy is an even better person than coach

Tony Dungy was here last April for a family reunion and to talk about a new book he had just published.

He had decided to coach the Indianapolis Colts for another year. When asked what he would do when he did retire, as he announced Monday, he said he would spend the rest of his life working with boys.

It was typical of what you would expect from this man. If someone asked me to rate him on a 1-10 scale, I would say 11 -- or whatever a perfect person would rate.

On his trip here last spring, he talked a lot about his future plans after football.

"I'd like to really do some more stuff one-on-one, reaching out to young boys, especially," Dungy said. "We've got so many guys that come into our league now that didn't grow up with their dads, and I just look back at all the information, and all the support that I got from my father, and just see so many kids in this country that don't have that.

"You can do a certain amount from a head coaching position and talk to kids and talk to groups, but I'd really like to get into some one-on-one stuff where you're helping young people."

Some of that desire stems from the 2005 death of his 18-year-old son, James, and Dungy blames himself for not doing more to help him.

"We have, we've got three young ones, seven, six and two, and helping them grow up will be important to me," Dungy said. "And my 16-year-old boy, Eric, is playing, he's a junior in high school. They've got a great passing attack where he goes to school [Plant High School in Tampa]. They just finished playing in the Nike tournament [last year], and I'd love to see him play more, too, so different things will take your interest and at some point I'll be ready to step down.

"He's going to school in Florida, and they've probably got one of the top three quarterbacks in the country playing with them, a kid named Aaron Murray, who's already committed to Georgia. So he's having fun catching the football. He's a receiver."

Special person Yes, Dungy is a special person as well as a special athlete. When he was with the Gophers, he could have played in one the greatest Gophers backfields ever, made up of Dungy, Rick Upchurch -- a big star later for the Denver Broncos -- and Larry Powell. Had Powell not gotten ill after his freshman year, coach Cal Stoll might have taken the Gophers to the Rose Bowl.

Dungy could have been a head coach at Minnesota some day had he not left Joe Salem's staff to join the Pittsburgh Steelers as defensive backs coach in 1981. He might have become the Vikings coach after he had joined Dennis Green's staff as defensive coordinator in 1992 because several of the 10 owners were unhappy with the personal conduct of one of Green's assistants. They wanted to fire Green and elevate Dungy to the top spot.

But he might never have been associated with longtime friend and Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore, who coached Dungy with the Gophers, had Stoll not taken Moore back, at the urging of a friend, after he joined a pro team in a league that folded.

Yes, he has class. Former Gophers tight end Ben Utecht will tell you about the phone call he got from Dungy, wishing him good luck after he left the Colts to sign as a free agent with the Bengals.

He ranks with the great football coaches of all time. No doubt, he could have named his salary if he was willing to remain as the Colts coach. But more important to him was the goal he set for himself to help young men not go wrong.

There are many relationships and friendships a sportswriter makes during his life. This is one of many I really treasure.

Jottings Mark Maturi, the son of Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi, has been named the assistant director of development for the University of South Dakota athletic department. Mark, a 2000 graduate of the University of Wisconsin, had been an associate for GR Seppala & Associates in Wayzata since 2007. In 2005-06, he led fundraising efforts for the Bemidji State athletic program.

Former Twins outfielder Craig Monroe has signed a minor-league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Monroe signed a one-year deal last season with the Twins and hit .202 in 58 games with eight home runs and 29 RBI before being released in August.

Former Bloomington Jefferson basketball star Cole Aldrich is second in scoring for the Kansas Jayhawks at 15.3 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 9.8 per game. Aldrich's rebound total is second in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma star Blake Griffin.

Former Gopher Kyle Okposo has scored 13 points on five goals and eight assists for the New York Islanders this season. The 20-year-old Okposo is tied for seventh on the team in scoring.

Brian Smith, the son of Gophers men's basketball coach Tubby Smith, is coaching the boys' junior varsity basketball team at Minneapolis Southwest. Smith graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2008 after averaging 1.2 points and 1.4 assists in three seasons with the Rebels.

Former North Stars coach Pierre Page is coaching EC Red Bull Salzburg in the Erste Bank Hockey League in Austria. Red Bull Salzburg is in fifth place with a record of 24-21.

Former Gophers Dusty Rychart and Rick Rickert continue to play well in the Australian National Basketball League. Rychart is averaging 15.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for the Wollogong Hawks, 11th in the league in scoring and seventh in rebounding.