June 3, 2025 • 20 mins
High Volume is back as Jeffrey Gorman is joined by Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy for an emotional tribute to late Colts Owner and CEO Jim Irsay. Jeffrey and Tony share stories from Irsay's life and impact on the Colts, Indianapolis and the NFL.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome in to high volume. This podcast is going to
be a little bit different than what you've seen in
the last couple of weeks. The volume won't be that high.
To be honest with you, as you've heard, the Colts
family has suffered a loss in the passing of our
owner Jim Mersay. I wanted to bring out a man
(00:23):
that meant so much to Jim Mersey, and that was
a hand picked head coach that led him to a
decade of greatness unmatched in the NFL, A partnership that
lasted for seven years, so many wins, so many wins
off the field as well, And I welcome in Colts
(00:45):
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dunch You.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I apologize, Coach. No, I'm with you. Jeffrey.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
I know.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I know how much Jim meant to you. He meant
the same thing you talked about our partnership. But man,
Jim Mersey was special to me and Jeffrey, I can
take you back to the very very first phone call
I had gotten let go by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
in January two thousand and two. I come home one
(01:17):
day and I'm not feeling great and there's a ten
minute voicemail.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Message famous for those yes and.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Said, this is Jim Mersey. I want you to call
me back. You're the man that I want to lead
our team, and here's why. And he went on and
talked about He talked a little bit about Super Bowls Jeffrey,
but he talked more about the team, the organization, the city,
connecting with the fans, being part of the community, all
(01:46):
the things that were just music to my ears. And
then at the end he said, I want you to
call me back. Don't have your agent call. This is
between you and me. And I called Jim back and
we talked for about forty five minutes, and he really
talked about his vision for the team and making it
part of the city of Indianapolis, part of the landscape,
(02:07):
and he wanted us to.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Do it together.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
He wanted to bring a championship there, but do it
the right way. And boy, was really special. It only
took me about ten minutes to say, this is where
I want to be, this is where I want to work.
And it was just a great partnership from there on out.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
But coach, I'm sure you did your leg work with
your team and your family of who am I going
to work for? What is Jim Irsay? And we've seen
some great stories and eccentric stories through the years of
mister Ersay and that partnership even between you two a
gregarious loud owner and Tony Dungee, that's always even keel.
(02:45):
How did that partnership get so close so quickly with
your personalities.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I think it was the fact that we had the
same things in mind and the same end goal. Jim
was just such a caring person and he wanted the
team to be Indianapolis's team, and I wanted the same thing.
I wanted our young men to be involved in the city,
to represent the Colts the right way, to represent the
(03:11):
ursa family, all of those things. So that was our
mission in mind, and we're talking about that in terms
of the players that we selected, the staff that we had,
and then Jim just really made the Colts Complex a
family oriented situation. Everyone felt comfortable bringing their kids there,
bringing their wives, just being.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Part of the building. And that's what I enjoyed.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
And the fact that I could walk down the hall
anytime day or night and walk in the door was
always open. Hey, Jim, we want to talk about this Hey,
what about that? And it just the more I talked
to him, the more I understood this is what we're
both all about, and it just was very very special.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
The tenacity of Jim Ursay is a funny one because
he's such a loving, as I said, gregarious person and
wants to be friends with everybody. But on Sundays that
kind of changed. I mean, he wanted to gut you, coach.
He wanted to gut you so like, what were those
meetings like when he would call you in and the
general manager, Bill Pollian, and you guys are rolling through
(04:19):
double digit wins and stuff. Did you always notice that
tenacity to get better and better and what can I
do to help the bolt Club?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Yes, he wanted the team to get better and he
would spare no expense, whatever it took.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
That was the other thing that I really loved.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Anytime I went down there and said, hey, we could
really use this or I think this would help us, Jim,
there was no question about it.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I remember we played a preseason game out.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
In Seattle and they had this what everybody uses now
field turf, but it was just so much softer and
so much nicer than what we had and Jim said, Hey,
the players have talked to me, so we're doing this.
We're taking the RCA Dome new field. We're going to
put the same thing in on our complex. I don't
even know how much that costs, but he did it
(05:03):
in thirty seconds because the player said, hey, we really
like this and it could help. That's just the way
he was about everything. If we need it, we'll do
it whatever it takes. We want to be the best.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Well, I'll tell you what he's shown it so many
hundreds and thousands of times about helping the community and
helping the people at work in the Colts family. And
there's some great stories that are personal to you. If
I could just a gentleman that I had the pleasure
of meeting your great father Wilbur and you know you
came out and took this job, and we'd see him
here and there, and I know the story behind that
(05:37):
you've told that, but a real connection with Jim, and
he was a member of the family as well, traveling
to all games.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
He really was.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
And my dad was seventy seven when I got the job.
But he would come to practice, come to training camp,
come on Fridays.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Jim would see him and talk to him.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
And the first year of two thousand and two was
just really special having my dad. He'd drive over from
Michigan and come to the games. And then Jim saw
him at an away game and he said, does your dad.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Go to the Way games too?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
And I said, well, he does, and the ones that
he can make it to, and he said, just tell
him to come here. We're putting him on the team playing.
So two thousand and three season, my dad went to
every road trip on the team plane and hung out
with Jim because he wanted him there. And then my
dad passed away after that two thousand and three season,
But the memory of me being able to spend every
(06:31):
weekend with my dad because Jim just felt it was
necessary and special. That's who he was. And those are
the things that you never ever forget.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Jeffrey, coach, You've had such a great run as this
head coach of this franchise. Rather and all of a sudden,
you know the house that some say Peyton built, the
house that Jim Mersey built in a great home for football,
Lucas Oil Stadium. And the fun part about that was
you were considering not coming back there, and Jim said,
(07:02):
I need you to steward in this new this new stadium,
because we've got a collection of great players that are
going to win some games.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
When I came in two thousand and two, Jim, you know,
we need a new stadium. It's got to be in Indianapolis.
It's got to be downtown. We've got to solidify this
partnership between the Colts and the city. And that was
always his dream. So it comes to fruition. Everything goes through.
We're building it. And I came to Jim after our
(07:33):
two thousand and seven season. I said, I really think, Jim,
this is time for me to step down. We've got
it rolling. I think I'm gonna step down. And he said,
you can't. You have to go in this new stadium.
We've got to go in together. And I came back
for one more year just because Jim wanted to go
into the stadium with he and I together with the
(07:56):
rest of the.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Team as one.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
And it was it was a special just the fact
that he wanted that made all the difference in the
world to me.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
We talked about the brilliant football manag Jim Ersay, a
guy we know the stories, you know, a socks and
jocks guy back in the day and going up through
the front office, you know, general manager to owner and
stuff like that. But those meetings, you guys would would
talk about and dissect football. I'm going to bring up
an incident or one of the examples here in a minute,
but I just want you to touch on his football
(08:25):
acumen for a minute.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Well, he when we first talked, he said, you know,
I grew up. I was a ball boy during the
Steelers dynasty. I was a ballboy for the Colts. I
saw it firsthand. That's what I want to bring and
that's what I want to build. So he had that
all the way back from watching football as a little kid,
growing watching talking to coaches, climbing the ladder in the
(08:47):
personnel department, become the general manager and then the owner finally,
and he knew football. He knew what he wanted. But
the thing I loved about it was he would state
his opinion, this is what we need to do, but
you and Bill the football guys, so you're gonna make
the final decision. This is what I see, but it's
up to you. And I really respected that, and we'd
(09:09):
always ask him for his opinion. But it was never dogmatic.
You know, if you don't do this, you're gonna get fired. Right, No,
this is the way I see it. But you're in
charge of the team, and we made a lot of
decisions together, I.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Tell you, and their history has proven that, coach. One
particular stretch of time that if you could touch on
was that Super Bowl season and it's I think maybe
Game fourteen or whatever. Jacksonville was down there and Fred
Taylor's going nuts and Jones Drew goes nuts and there's
three hundred and seventy five yards on your defense, and
(09:43):
in the locker room afterwards, there's a lot of people
that are, you know, very like, what are we gonna do?
I don't think this is gonna work. We're going into
the playoffs and stuff. And obviously you helped steady the ship.
But coach Coach Jim has talked about that incident through
the years many many times about your steady presence when
you're to three of you, that three headed monster between
Polly and Ursa and Dungee, and you said, hey, we
(10:04):
are going to be fine. If you could just touch
on that moment and what Jim was saying, what his
reaction was when you say, hey, no, sweat, I got this.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
I said, you know, I know it looks bad right now,
but we're very, very close. The thing we can't do
is panic and try to come up with a new formula.
We'll get Bob Sanders back. That's going to make a
big difference. We've got to move some people around until
that time so we can study the ship. But we're
not going to do anything special. We'll do less as
a matter of fact, and fine tune these fundamentals. And
(10:36):
I went into the locker room after that and talked
to the team, and we're not making any changes. We're
not bringing in any new personnel. You guys can do this,
and we believe in you. And I'll never forget. After
the FC Championship game, and there's that piece is embedded
in NFL films now where Jim says, I'm gonna throw
it back to Tony because he's the steady one.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
But that was it.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Talked about staying the course, and he was fine with it. Hey,
you're you're the guy I hired, so I believe in you.
He had faith in me. I had faith in the players,
and six weeks later were holding the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Trump wonderful, wonderful memories, and there's so many, there's so
many peaks and valleys and Coach, a special moment that happened,
the loss of your son James, when that happened, and
I remember that very well, very very well, that that
time that that happened. And I know that this community
(11:34):
and this franchise put its arms around the Dungee family.
But if you could just share some of the stories
that mister Ersay and you had regarding that loss in
the passing of James, but everything that happened in the
years past, yeah, no, he.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Was very always special, but that moment in particular for
our family. I called him and told him that, you know, hey,
you have to understand where we are. And he said,
don't even worry about take as much time as you need.
This is family time and the team will be fine.
And then he started a plane and brought every member
(12:12):
of the team, all the staff, anybody who had come
in contact with James, all the ball boys, just you know,
everybody came down to the funeral and it was one
of those moments where.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
You said, you know, this is bigger than football.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
We're in this together, and that's that's a moment our
family will never forget.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Coach.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
I know, we go over it. I just put kind
of different words here and there, but the messages and
questions are still the same because I'm just trying to,
you know, memorialize this great man. But when you're when
you're walking around the Pro Football Hall of Fame, when
you're walking around the set on NBC and and people
ask you, Hey, Tony, what was it like working with
Jim Rsay? You know, we've heard the story through the
(12:51):
years of his some gregarious things that he does, and
and and you know, freeing whales and everything in between.
But what what do you say when you say, what
was he like working as a partner for you?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
I couldn't imagine working for a better owner. He was involved,
he was there every day. He was hands on, but
he didn't control things. We did things as a partnership.
He wanted us to be successful and he gave us
every opportunity to do that, but he still made it
like a family. And that is what I remember. I
(13:25):
tell people all the time what it was like working there,
how enjoyable it was, and the relationships that we had,
the last two of our people to go in the
Hall of Fame Edrin James and Dwight Freeney. They chose
to be presented by their owner, Jim Mercy. That does
(13:47):
not happen in the Hall of Fame. People are presented
by their wife or their children, or a teammate or
a coach. It's just very rare that a player is
going to say, Hey, the person that's most important to
me and had the most impact on me in my
life was the owner of the team. I think that
speaks volumes about Jim, about his relationship with everyone. I
(14:10):
can't tell you the number of times I had conversations
with him about a player, not about how he was
playing on the field, but what was going on in
his life. Something's going on in his family life, and
we've got to help him out. And that was Jim,
just to a tea. He wanted to take care of
every single person in that organization. I'll tell you another
story that's just unbelievable to me. We go to the
(14:34):
Super Bowl in two thousand and six. He takes everyone
in the organization down, spouses everybody. That just does not happen.
That is Jim Mersey in a nutshell. But it's so
rare in this day and age, and that was one
of the most enjoyable moments. We're at the party and
there's the male people and the cooks and everybody's there
(14:56):
enjoying this because it was a team win. Wasn't the
football team, wasn't the players, it wasn't the staff, it
was the Colts coach.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
The Colts have announced that they will be using that
patch on the back of the helmet or on the
on the jersey rather, and also on the back of
the helmet this upcoming season. Some of the stuff that's
went around here is, you know, a lot of the
team yesterday and staff are wearing an old weight that
big man could hoist some weight. But I just wanted you,
(15:29):
you know better than most. And you met Jim's three
daughters early on, early on in your tenure here. And
now we go into another era of Colts ownership with
that's led by Carly Casey and Kaylin. And if you
could give the Colts fans a little background on what
you've noticed through those You've always been close with that
family even after you retired, but what you've seen from
(15:50):
their maturing and how this transition from one ownership and
now Jim with his daughters. That's gonna flow pretty well.
I got a feeling it is, and.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Jim was preparing for this and none of us expected
it to happen. Now you're thinking, maybe it's gonna be
eight years from now, ten years from now, but eventually
the girls are going to take over. And he wanted
them to be ready for it, and there's no doubt
in my mind that they are. They've seen how it works,
they understand things, and there'll be a learning curve, but
they're ready for it. And just the way Jim took
(16:22):
over and the way he grew into it, they're going
to grow the same way. But they they care about
the people the same way. They're going to have the
same approach. It's going to be Colt's football. It's going
to continue, and Cole's family is going to continue.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
And that's the thing I'm excited about.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Well hand picked head coach like he did with you
and basically telling you, hey, you're going to be the
head coach here. I don't know if you've agreed on
that or not, but I'm just telling you, like, I
love that story, and you'll be connected with mister Ersay
forever and ever, and I Coach, I appreciate you taking
the time, and we're going to do this again. There's
going to be tributes throughout the summer to mister Ersay
and the memories that he created with his staff and players.
(17:01):
And you're right at the top of the list because
I saw a lot of this from the back row,
and the specialness that you had, the bond that you
had with him and his family. Wonderful to watch and Coach,
tip of the hat to you for being a great friend.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Mister Ersay, Well, he was a great friend to me
and my family. He was great for so many people
in the area, so many people in the NFL. But
I miss him already. Just a special man and I
can't even put into words how much he meant to
me and my family.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
One of the greatest to do it for the Indianapolis
Colts franchise. That's head coach Tony Dungee, who is linked
at the hip forever with Colts owner Jim Ersay and Coach.
I sure appreciate the time and we'll continue this. We'll
continue telling stories and sharing some great memories as we
go on, especially with you. I appreciate your time today.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Jeffrey anytime, anytime talking colts ball and talking Jim, irsay,
I can do that.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Thanks, goa Jah, I'll join you on that.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
I could do the same.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
They're great, Tony Dungee, thank you, sir, Thanks for joining
us here on high volume. There will be plenty more
down the road and a tribute to a great man
that changed the landscape of this city, landscape of the league.
And there's stories that are out there that I hope
that we all can tell on mister ers. Some are privileged,
some that need to be shared with the community, and
(18:26):
I hope to bring that to you guys over the
course of this summer and catch up with some past
chapters of Jim's life and people that he's touched and
work for him and befriended, and the family as well.
And it's a tough time. He was a dear friend.
He was a friend first for me, a boss second.
And I've had many, many great memories with him that
(18:49):
I could sit here for twelve straight hours and go
over what that meant, what that man meant to a
lot of people and his way. He was literally wanted
to create magic, and he'd say it, he'd say it.
Man he'd say, I want to create magic, and he
knew what that meant and is creating the buzz around
the team, around himself, around He loved that because he
(19:11):
was larger than life and he wanted everybody to be happy.
And it didn't matter if where you were in the
stature of your livelihood or it didn't matter. He just
wanted to find out about you and how you're doing today.
And you guys out there, a lot of you have
met this man and you've seen him look in your
eye and ask about you, and that was his big heart.
I don't think the NFL family will ever see an
(19:32):
owner like Jim Mersey again. And like I said, that
gregarious style and that raspy voice and making magic was it.
It's tough to keep a straight face these days. A
lot of tears have been shed and we're going to
continue rolling on in his memory. So I appreciate you
guys watching I do.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I appreciate all.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
The YouTube viewers, and be sure to check out JJ
Stankowitz on the Cold Show because those tributes are coming
as well. You'll hear it all throughout the summer and
especially when the Colts are showing tributes like this and
wearing this pin, and you know about the helmet sticker
and the jersey patch. So this upcoming years win one
for Jim. So let's start down that road sooner than later.
(20:15):
We'll talk to you soon. Thanks for watching today,
Welcome in to high volume. This podcast is going to
be a little bit different than what you've seen in
the last couple of weeks. The volume won't be that high.
To be honest with you, as you've heard, the Colts
family has suffered a loss in the passing of our
owner Jim Mersay. I wanted to bring out a man
(00:23):
that meant so much to Jim Mersey, and that was
a hand picked head coach that led him to a
decade of greatness unmatched in the NFL, A partnership that
lasted for seven years, so many wins, so many wins
off the field as well, And I welcome in Colts
(00:45):
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dunch You.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
I apologize, Coach. No, I'm with you. Jeffrey.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
I know.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
I know how much Jim meant to you. He meant
the same thing you talked about our partnership. But man,
Jim Mersey was special to me and Jeffrey, I can
take you back to the very very first phone call
I had gotten let go by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
in January two thousand and two. I come home one
(01:17):
day and I'm not feeling great and there's a ten
minute voicemail.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Message famous for those yes and.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
Said, this is Jim Mersey. I want you to call
me back. You're the man that I want to lead
our team, and here's why. And he went on and
talked about He talked a little bit about Super Bowls Jeffrey,
but he talked more about the team, the organization, the city,
connecting with the fans, being part of the community, all
(01:46):
the things that were just music to my ears. And
then at the end he said, I want you to
call me back. Don't have your agent call. This is
between you and me. And I called Jim back and
we talked for about forty five minutes, and he really
talked about his vision for the team and making it
part of the city of Indianapolis, part of the landscape,
(02:07):
and he wanted us to.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Do it together.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
He wanted to bring a championship there, but do it
the right way. And boy, was really special. It only
took me about ten minutes to say, this is where
I want to be, this is where I want to work.
And it was just a great partnership from there on out.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
But coach, I'm sure you did your leg work with
your team and your family of who am I going
to work for? What is Jim Irsay? And we've seen
some great stories and eccentric stories through the years of
mister Ersay and that partnership even between you two a
gregarious loud owner and Tony Dungee, that's always even keel.
(02:45):
How did that partnership get so close so quickly with
your personalities.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
I think it was the fact that we had the
same things in mind and the same end goal. Jim
was just such a caring person and he wanted the
team to be Indianapolis's team, and I wanted the same thing.
I wanted our young men to be involved in the city,
to represent the Colts the right way, to represent the
(03:11):
ursa family, all of those things. So that was our
mission in mind, and we're talking about that in terms
of the players that we selected, the staff that we had,
and then Jim just really made the Colts Complex a
family oriented situation. Everyone felt comfortable bringing their kids there,
bringing their wives, just being.
Speaker 2 (03:33):
Part of the building. And that's what I enjoyed.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
And the fact that I could walk down the hall
anytime day or night and walk in the door was
always open. Hey, Jim, we want to talk about this Hey,
what about that? And it just the more I talked
to him, the more I understood this is what we're
both all about, and it just was very very special.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
The tenacity of Jim Ursay is a funny one because
he's such a loving, as I said, gregarious person and
wants to be friends with everybody. But on Sundays that
kind of changed. I mean, he wanted to gut you, coach.
He wanted to gut you so like, what were those
meetings like when he would call you in and the
general manager, Bill Pollian, and you guys are rolling through
(04:19):
double digit wins and stuff. Did you always notice that
tenacity to get better and better and what can I
do to help the bolt Club?
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (04:26):
Yes, he wanted the team to get better and he
would spare no expense, whatever it took.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
That was the other thing that I really loved.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Anytime I went down there and said, hey, we could
really use this or I think this would help us, Jim,
there was no question about it.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I remember we played a preseason game out.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
In Seattle and they had this what everybody uses now
field turf, but it was just so much softer and
so much nicer than what we had and Jim said, Hey,
the players have talked to me, so we're doing this.
We're taking the RCA Dome new field. We're going to
put the same thing in on our complex. I don't
even know how much that costs, but he did it
(05:03):
in thirty seconds because the player said, hey, we really
like this and it could help. That's just the way
he was about everything. If we need it, we'll do
it whatever it takes. We want to be the best.
Speaker 1 (05:16):
Well, I'll tell you what he's shown it so many
hundreds and thousands of times about helping the community and
helping the people at work in the Colts family. And
there's some great stories that are personal to you. If
I could just a gentleman that I had the pleasure
of meeting your great father Wilbur and you know you
came out and took this job, and we'd see him
here and there, and I know the story behind that
(05:37):
you've told that, but a real connection with Jim, and
he was a member of the family as well, traveling
to all games.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
He really was.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
And my dad was seventy seven when I got the job.
But he would come to practice, come to training camp,
come on Fridays.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
Jim would see him and talk to him.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
And the first year of two thousand and two was
just really special having my dad. He'd drive over from
Michigan and come to the games. And then Jim saw
him at an away game and he said, does your dad.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
Go to the Way games too?
Speaker 3 (06:09):
And I said, well, he does, and the ones that
he can make it to, and he said, just tell
him to come here. We're putting him on the team playing.
So two thousand and three season, my dad went to
every road trip on the team plane and hung out
with Jim because he wanted him there. And then my
dad passed away after that two thousand and three season,
But the memory of me being able to spend every
(06:31):
weekend with my dad because Jim just felt it was
necessary and special. That's who he was. And those are
the things that you never ever forget.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Jeffrey, coach, You've had such a great run as this
head coach of this franchise. Rather and all of a sudden,
you know the house that some say Peyton built, the
house that Jim Mersey built in a great home for football,
Lucas Oil Stadium. And the fun part about that was
you were considering not coming back there, and Jim said,
(07:02):
I need you to steward in this new this new stadium,
because we've got a collection of great players that are
going to win some games.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
When I came in two thousand and two, Jim, you know,
we need a new stadium. It's got to be in Indianapolis.
It's got to be downtown. We've got to solidify this
partnership between the Colts and the city. And that was
always his dream. So it comes to fruition. Everything goes through.
We're building it. And I came to Jim after our
(07:33):
two thousand and seven season. I said, I really think, Jim,
this is time for me to step down. We've got
it rolling. I think I'm gonna step down. And he said,
you can't. You have to go in this new stadium.
We've got to go in together. And I came back
for one more year just because Jim wanted to go
into the stadium with he and I together with the
(07:56):
rest of the.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Team as one.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
And it was it was a special just the fact
that he wanted that made all the difference in the
world to me.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
We talked about the brilliant football manag Jim Ersay, a
guy we know the stories, you know, a socks and
jocks guy back in the day and going up through
the front office, you know, general manager to owner and
stuff like that. But those meetings, you guys would would
talk about and dissect football. I'm going to bring up
an incident or one of the examples here in a minute,
but I just want you to touch on his football
(08:25):
acumen for a minute.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
Well, he when we first talked, he said, you know,
I grew up. I was a ball boy during the
Steelers dynasty. I was a ballboy for the Colts. I
saw it firsthand. That's what I want to bring and
that's what I want to build. So he had that
all the way back from watching football as a little kid,
growing watching talking to coaches, climbing the ladder in the
(08:47):
personnel department, become the general manager and then the owner finally,
and he knew football. He knew what he wanted. But
the thing I loved about it was he would state
his opinion, this is what we need to do, but
you and Bill the football guys, so you're gonna make
the final decision. This is what I see, but it's
up to you. And I really respected that, and we'd
(09:09):
always ask him for his opinion. But it was never dogmatic.
You know, if you don't do this, you're gonna get fired. Right, No,
this is the way I see it. But you're in
charge of the team, and we made a lot of
decisions together, I.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
Tell you, and their history has proven that, coach. One
particular stretch of time that if you could touch on
was that Super Bowl season and it's I think maybe
Game fourteen or whatever. Jacksonville was down there and Fred
Taylor's going nuts and Jones Drew goes nuts and there's
three hundred and seventy five yards on your defense, and
(09:43):
in the locker room afterwards, there's a lot of people
that are, you know, very like, what are we gonna do?
I don't think this is gonna work. We're going into
the playoffs and stuff. And obviously you helped steady the ship.
But coach Coach Jim has talked about that incident through
the years many many times about your steady presence when
you're to three of you, that three headed monster between
Polly and Ursa and Dungee, and you said, hey, we
(10:04):
are going to be fine. If you could just touch
on that moment and what Jim was saying, what his
reaction was when you say, hey, no, sweat, I got this.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
I said, you know, I know it looks bad right now,
but we're very, very close. The thing we can't do
is panic and try to come up with a new formula.
We'll get Bob Sanders back. That's going to make a
big difference. We've got to move some people around until
that time so we can study the ship. But we're
not going to do anything special. We'll do less as
a matter of fact, and fine tune these fundamentals. And
(10:36):
I went into the locker room after that and talked
to the team, and we're not making any changes. We're
not bringing in any new personnel. You guys can do this,
and we believe in you. And I'll never forget. After
the FC Championship game, and there's that piece is embedded
in NFL films now where Jim says, I'm gonna throw
it back to Tony because he's the steady one.
Speaker 2 (10:59):
But that was it.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Talked about staying the course, and he was fine with it. Hey,
you're you're the guy I hired, so I believe in you.
He had faith in me. I had faith in the players,
and six weeks later were holding the Super Bowl.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
Trump wonderful, wonderful memories, and there's so many, there's so
many peaks and valleys and Coach, a special moment that happened,
the loss of your son James, when that happened, and
I remember that very well, very very well, that that
time that that happened. And I know that this community
(11:34):
and this franchise put its arms around the Dungee family.
But if you could just share some of the stories
that mister Ersay and you had regarding that loss in
the passing of James, but everything that happened in the
years past, yeah, no, he.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Was very always special, but that moment in particular for
our family. I called him and told him that, you know, hey,
you have to understand where we are. And he said,
don't even worry about take as much time as you need.
This is family time and the team will be fine.
And then he started a plane and brought every member
(12:12):
of the team, all the staff, anybody who had come
in contact with James, all the ball boys, just you know,
everybody came down to the funeral and it was one
of those moments where.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
You said, you know, this is bigger than football.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
We're in this together, and that's that's a moment our
family will never forget.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
Coach.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
I know, we go over it. I just put kind
of different words here and there, but the messages and
questions are still the same because I'm just trying to,
you know, memorialize this great man. But when you're when
you're walking around the Pro Football Hall of Fame, when
you're walking around the set on NBC and and people
ask you, Hey, Tony, what was it like working with
Jim Rsay? You know, we've heard the story through the
(12:51):
years of his some gregarious things that he does, and
and and you know, freeing whales and everything in between.
But what what do you say when you say, what
was he like working as a partner for you?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
I couldn't imagine working for a better owner. He was involved,
he was there every day. He was hands on, but
he didn't control things. We did things as a partnership.
He wanted us to be successful and he gave us
every opportunity to do that, but he still made it
like a family. And that is what I remember. I
(13:25):
tell people all the time what it was like working there,
how enjoyable it was, and the relationships that we had,
the last two of our people to go in the
Hall of Fame Edrin James and Dwight Freeney. They chose
to be presented by their owner, Jim Mercy. That does
(13:47):
not happen in the Hall of Fame. People are presented
by their wife or their children, or a teammate or
a coach. It's just very rare that a player is
going to say, Hey, the person that's most important to
me and had the most impact on me in my
life was the owner of the team. I think that
speaks volumes about Jim, about his relationship with everyone. I
(14:10):
can't tell you the number of times I had conversations
with him about a player, not about how he was
playing on the field, but what was going on in
his life. Something's going on in his family life, and
we've got to help him out. And that was Jim,
just to a tea. He wanted to take care of
every single person in that organization. I'll tell you another
story that's just unbelievable to me. We go to the
(14:34):
Super Bowl in two thousand and six. He takes everyone
in the organization down, spouses everybody. That just does not happen.
That is Jim Mersey in a nutshell. But it's so
rare in this day and age, and that was one
of the most enjoyable moments. We're at the party and
there's the male people and the cooks and everybody's there
(14:56):
enjoying this because it was a team win. Wasn't the
football team, wasn't the players, it wasn't the staff, it
was the Colts coach.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
The Colts have announced that they will be using that
patch on the back of the helmet or on the
on the jersey rather, and also on the back of
the helmet this upcoming season. Some of the stuff that's
went around here is, you know, a lot of the
team yesterday and staff are wearing an old weight that
big man could hoist some weight. But I just wanted you,
(15:29):
you know better than most. And you met Jim's three
daughters early on, early on in your tenure here. And
now we go into another era of Colts ownership with
that's led by Carly Casey and Kaylin. And if you
could give the Colts fans a little background on what
you've noticed through those You've always been close with that
family even after you retired, but what you've seen from
(15:50):
their maturing and how this transition from one ownership and
now Jim with his daughters. That's gonna flow pretty well.
I got a feeling it is, and.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Jim was preparing for this and none of us expected
it to happen. Now you're thinking, maybe it's gonna be
eight years from now, ten years from now, but eventually
the girls are going to take over. And he wanted
them to be ready for it, and there's no doubt
in my mind that they are. They've seen how it works,
they understand things, and there'll be a learning curve, but
they're ready for it. And just the way Jim took
(16:22):
over and the way he grew into it, they're going
to grow the same way. But they they care about
the people the same way. They're going to have the
same approach. It's going to be Colt's football. It's going
to continue, and Cole's family is going to continue.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
And that's the thing I'm excited about.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Well hand picked head coach like he did with you
and basically telling you, hey, you're going to be the
head coach here. I don't know if you've agreed on
that or not, but I'm just telling you, like, I
love that story, and you'll be connected with mister Ersay
forever and ever, and I Coach, I appreciate you taking
the time, and we're going to do this again. There's
going to be tributes throughout the summer to mister Ersay
and the memories that he created with his staff and players.
(17:01):
And you're right at the top of the list because
I saw a lot of this from the back row,
and the specialness that you had, the bond that you
had with him and his family. Wonderful to watch and Coach,
tip of the hat to you for being a great friend.
Speaker 3 (17:13):
Mister Ersay, Well, he was a great friend to me
and my family. He was great for so many people
in the area, so many people in the NFL. But
I miss him already. Just a special man and I
can't even put into words how much he meant to
me and my family.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
One of the greatest to do it for the Indianapolis
Colts franchise. That's head coach Tony Dungee, who is linked
at the hip forever with Colts owner Jim Ersay and Coach.
I sure appreciate the time and we'll continue this. We'll
continue telling stories and sharing some great memories as we
go on, especially with you. I appreciate your time today.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Jeffrey anytime, anytime talking colts ball and talking Jim, irsay,
I can do that.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Thanks, goa Jah, I'll join you on that.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
I could do the same.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
They're great, Tony Dungee, thank you, sir, Thanks for joining
us here on high volume. There will be plenty more
down the road and a tribute to a great man
that changed the landscape of this city, landscape of the league.
And there's stories that are out there that I hope
that we all can tell on mister ers. Some are privileged,
some that need to be shared with the community, and
(18:26):
I hope to bring that to you guys over the
course of this summer and catch up with some past
chapters of Jim's life and people that he's touched and
work for him and befriended, and the family as well.
And it's a tough time. He was a dear friend.
He was a friend first for me, a boss second.
And I've had many, many great memories with him that
(18:49):
I could sit here for twelve straight hours and go
over what that meant, what that man meant to a
lot of people and his way. He was literally wanted
to create magic, and he'd say it, he'd say it.
Man he'd say, I want to create magic, and he
knew what that meant and is creating the buzz around
the team, around himself, around He loved that because he
(19:11):
was larger than life and he wanted everybody to be happy.
And it didn't matter if where you were in the
stature of your livelihood or it didn't matter. He just
wanted to find out about you and how you're doing today.
And you guys out there, a lot of you have
met this man and you've seen him look in your
eye and ask about you, and that was his big heart.
I don't think the NFL family will ever see an
(19:32):
owner like Jim Mersey again. And like I said, that
gregarious style and that raspy voice and making magic was it.
It's tough to keep a straight face these days. A
lot of tears have been shed and we're going to
continue rolling on in his memory. So I appreciate you
guys watching I do.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I appreciate all.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
The YouTube viewers, and be sure to check out JJ
Stankowitz on the Cold Show because those tributes are coming
as well. You'll hear it all throughout the summer and
especially when the Colts are showing tributes like this and
wearing this pin, and you know about the helmet sticker
and the jersey patch. So this upcoming years win one
for Jim. So let's start down that road sooner than later.
(20:15):
We'll talk to you soon. Thanks for watching today,
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