Super Bowl 41 was the first Super Bowl contest pitting teams led by two African American coaches, Tony Dungy, of the Indianapolis (Indiana) Colts and Lovie Smith of the Chicago (Illinois) Bears in the National Football League (NFL). The game was played on February 4, 2007, in Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida.
Tony Dungy was born in Jackson, Michigan on October 6, 1955, but grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He played football at Parkside High School and after graduating in 1973 he attended the University of Minnesota where he played quarterback on its Golden Gophers Football team. He went undrafted in the 1977 NFL Draft but was picked up by the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Steelers where he played the defensive back position. He would go on to play for the San Francisco (California) 49ners and New York Giants before retiring from the NFL.
Beginning in 1980, Dungy was the defensive back coach and defensive coordinator for multiple NFL teams including the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Steelers, and Kansas City (Missouri) Chiefs until he officially got a head coaching job with the Tampa Bay (Florida) Buccaneers in 1996. Dungy remained there until he was hired by the Indianapolis Colts before the 2002 NFL Season.
Lovie Lee Smith was born on May 8, 1958, in Gladewater, Texas. Smith attended Big Sandy High School in Big Sandy, Texas where he played defensive end and linebacker for the high school football team. After high school, he attended the University of Tulsa where he played for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football team. While there, he was a two-time All American.
After college, Smith coached numerous high school and college football programs including Big Sandy High School and the University of Tulsa. In 1996, he became the linebacker coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under coach Tony Dungy where he would remain until the end of the 2000 NFL season. In 2001 Smith became the Defensive Coordinator for the St. Louis Rams (Now Los Angeles Rams). In 2004, Smith got a head coaching job for the Chicago Bears.
During the 2006 NFL Season, Dungy and Colts Quarterback Peyton Manning had a 12-4 regular season record where they defeated the Kansas City (Missouri) Chiefs, Baltimore (Maryland) Ravens, and New England (Massachusetts) Patriots in the playoffs to reach Super Bowl 41. Smith and the Bears, led by Quarterback Rex Grossman, had a 13-3 regular season record where they defeated the Seattle (Washington) Seahawks and New Orleans (Louisiana) Saints to reach Super Bowl 41. Their respective victories led to their meeting on February 4, 2007.
The Colts defeated the Bears 29-17, making Dungy the first African American coach to win the Super Bowl. Musician Prince Rogers Nelson performed at the halftime show. Tony Dungy would continue to coach for the Colts until he retired after the 2008 NFL season. He was introduced to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2016. Today he is an NFL analyst for NBC Sunday Night Football. Lovie Smith would continue to coach the Bears until he was fired after the 2012 NFL Season. In 2014, Smith was hired by the Buccaneers until the 2015 NFL season. Smith would later become the head coach of the Houston (Texas) Texans for one season in 2022.
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“Lovie Smith,” ESPN, https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore/_/gameId/270204003; “Lovie Smith,” Colts, https://www.colts.com/photos/super-bowl-xli-peyton-manning-jim-irsay-marvin-harrison-tony-dungy-15-years-ago; “Lovie Smith,” Pro Football-Reference, https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/200702040chi.htm.
