A little faith, conviction, allowed Dungy to turn Bucs around in 1996

It was dark at the beginning of that year. Expectations were high; the team finally ended double digit losses the season before, and were in the Playoff march until the last couple of weeks. With a better coach, and some new players, surely the Bucs would be more competitive this year. Sound familiar? The year was 1996, and the  Bucs had not ended their losing ways yet. Despite being 7-7 at one point in 95, the Bucs found themselves 0-5 in ’96 and not a win was in site to be honest. Tampa Bay was down only 10-3 before the half to Green Bay, but a holding call on a Packer FG gave the Packers the ball back, which they turned into a 17-3 lead in one play. Not able to run the clock out, Green Bay got the ball back in time for one more quick TD strike from Favre, and a 24-3 half time lead that could have simply been 13-3. This was the hurdle in front of Tony Dungy and his coaching staff. A couple of close losses, a bunch of not so close losses, and Tampa Bay was in worse shape than they were the year before, even though Dungy and crew knew the team was better than it was in 1995. Then, as now, patience had to win out over ignorant fans who thankfully lacked the medium to announce themselves so easily as they are able to with today’s blogosphere environment. Surely Dungy and Crew would have been under furious attacks like Morris & Co. are under today. So do what was done back then, give them the time they need to right the wrongs. In the end, the wins came last year and now in 2010, better players are here too. Success, like then, is just around the corner. Dont jump ship (or wagon) just yet!