Why did NBC let Tony Dungy go? Dungy says the network told him and longtime co-host Rodney Harrison that it wanted to get younger and bring new voices to “Football Night in America.” In an interview on “The Sage Steele Show” released Tuesday, Oct. 6, his 71st birthday, the Pro Football Hall of Famer said he saw the change coming. NBC thanked the two for their work and told them it was reshaping the show.
What makes the story more striking is who is now on that set. Mike Tomlin, the coach Dungy gave his first NFL job 25 years ago, has joined NBC’s main studio desk.
What did Tony Dungy say about his NBC exit?
He said the decision hurt, but he had been through similar changes in football. When something like this happens, he said, you ask what it means and where your path leads next. His answer was to stay rooted in his faith and trust God with the next step.
He also said he wasn’t surprised, pointing to things that had happened at the network. The Athletic reported in late February that Dungy was likely out, and he confirmed it in a March 12 statement. In that post on X, he thanked his NBC family for 17 years, called Harrison a close friend and cited Romans 8:28, saying he trusted that God had a plan for his life.
Did Tony Dungy’s faith play a role?
Steele, who left ESPN in 2023 after settling a lawsuit against the network, suggested that his firing was tied to how openly he spoke about his faith and his opposition to abortion. He said television networks try to appeal to everyone and don’t always welcome on-air talk about faith. He said he will keep talking about it respectfully, that people will always know he is a Christian, and that he will not hide that he is pro-life.
He also said there were topics NBC preferred he avoid and that both sides understood that from the start, since the network knew who he was when it hired him. When Steele asked directly whether his faith was the real reason he was let go, Dungy said he didn’t know and that it didn’t matter to him. He said he looks back on 17 years of good times and strong relationships.
His public views have drawn attention before. In 2022, he campaigned against a Michigan ballot measure on reproductive rights. In early 2023, he deleted a post that repeated a debunked claim about schools and apologized for it. That same week, he spoke at the March for Life in Washington.
Hall-of-fame coach Tony Dungy opens up about getting fired by NBC and the role his Christian faith and pro-life views may have played. FACT: he only discussed his personal beliefs during his personal off time – never once on the air during his 17 years at NBC.
Catch the full conversation next Wednesday 10/14 on The Sage Steele Show.
@TonyDungy
— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) October 7, 2026
Who replaced Tony Dungy on Football Night in America?
The overhaul went beyond Dungy. Harrison, Chris Simms and Matthew Berry also lost their seats, and Jac Collinsworth was moved to a postgame show on Peacock. In April, NBC hired former Steelers coach Mike Tomlin as its new lead studio analyst, joining host Maria Taylor, Jason Garrett, Devin McCourty and Mike Florio.
Their history goes back decades. In 2001, Dungy hired Tomlin as a defensive backs coach in Tampa Bay, giving him his first NFL job. When Dungy moved to the Colts, he wanted to bring Tomlin along as defensive coordinator but wasn’t allowed to. In 2020, Tomlin passed Dungy as the winningest Black head coach in NFL history, and Dungy congratulated him publicly. Tomlin has said he learned more from Dungy in their short time together than he could ever fully explain.
That history carries extra weight for Black football fans. Dungy became the first Black head coach to win a Super Bowl when the Colts won in February 2007. Tomlin later became, at 36, the youngest head coach to win one. Now the protégé holds the TV role his mentor used to fill.
What’s next for Tony Dungy?
On Sept. 9, he launched his own media brand, Road to Sunday. The full interview with Steele, which runs more than 90 minutes, will be released on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Viewers may learn then which topics NBC wanted him to avoid.
