NBC Sports has cut former NFL coach Tony Dungy from “Football Night in America,” Dungy said in an X post on Thursday.
“I have been informed by NBC that I won’t be back with FNIA this fall and it has given me time to reflect and also to look ahead,” he wrote on Thursday. “It’s disappointing news but I want to thank my NBC family for making the last 17 years so special.”
The Athletic first reported last month that Dungy would likely exit the program as NBC sought to remake the pre-“Sunday Night Football” show, though it reported Dungy could potentially be given “emeritus” status to remain affiliated with the network. NBC Sports did not respond to an immediate request for comment on the status of Dungy’s relationship. Dungy joined NBC Sports in 2009.
Dungy played three seasons in the NFL as a defensive back, helping lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to a Super Bowl win in 1979. His coaching career included head coaching stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then the Indianapolis Colts, which he led to a Super Bowl victory in 2007 over the Chicago Bears.
Dungy has received some criticism while veering into politics off the field. During his appearance at the anti-abortion March for Life rally in 2023, he used the near-death experience of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin to bolster his claim that abortion should be outlawed. He also boosted the wild claim that schools were adding litter boxes for “students who identify as cats” in a 2023 tweet, which he later deleted.
Dungy said on Thursday that he would look to his faith as he figures out next steps.
“Whether it will be in football, in broadcasting, or getting more involved in church and community outreach,” he wrote, “I know God has plans for my life and I can’t wait see them unfold.”
