Dungy spent years as an analyst on NBC, sharing his insight after a 13-year head coaching career in the NFL and a Super Bowl championship with the Indianapolis Colts.But curiously, despite his popularity and wealth of experience, Dungy and NBC parted ways in early 2026.He told former ESPN personality Sage Steele that he had a sneaking suspicion as to why.
During a recent, lengthy interview on "The Sage Steele Show", Dungy explained what he believed led to his exit and why he doesn't regret what he did.HALL OF FAMER TONY DUNGY ENDORSES MICHELE TAFOYA IN CROWDED MINNESOTA REPUBLICAN PRIMARY FOR U.S.SENATEFootball Night in America analyst and former NFL player and coach Tony Dungy looks on prior to the game between the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., on Nov.
2, 2025.(Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)Steele brought up NBC, then said from the outside, it seemed like it "was tied to you being more and more vocal about your beliefs with faith, with being pro-life."Dungy didn't deny it, saying he felt that it wasn't always appreciated that he spoke out about his faith."There are some things that, I guess in TV especially, they want you to be careful because they want to attract everybody.
They want to have an audience of everyone.They don’t always appreciate you speaking about your faith.
But for me, I’m always going to do that.I'm going to try and do it in a respectful way, but people are going to know that I’m a Christian."Relatedly, Dungy also spoke at the "March for Life" event, which he later told Steele was not a popular decision with the NBC brass.
Steele asked Dungy if he'd asked permission before speaking, to which he confirmed he hadn't.ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY 'NO RELIGIOUS SIGNS' RULE DRAWS BACKLASH DURING ALABAMA VS GEORGIA BROADCAST"And they were not happy that I went because … their point is, ‘Hey, we’ve got audience on all sides of the spectrum.We don’t want to push away anyone just making statement...