Colts hoping Dungy decides to keep coaching

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Colts owner Jim Irsay will do what it takes to keep coach Tony Dungy.

He'll keep paying him the big bucks, help him get back to Tampa Bay more often, even give him additional time off if necessary. So will that be enough to keep Dungy on the sideline?

"Tony knows how much I want him to stay," Irsay said after Sunday's 28-24 loss to San Diego. "We'll sit down and talk this week and beyond this week. He needed to be down in Tampa some in the offseason, taking care of his family. We can work around that.

"Anything that can make it easier, and have him come back and forth in the offseason or anything like that, I think that's possible."

Dungy still intends to discuss the future plans with his wife, Lauren, before meeting again with Irsay and team president Bill Polian although he gave no timetable for a decision.

It's the third consecutive year Dungy has contemplated retirement, and he returned each of the previous two.

But he has frequently said he doesn't consider himself an NFL "lifer," and has often acknowledged he planned to leave the game by age 50. He turned 52 in October and has committed himself to many charitable causes off the field.

The debate heated up again this week after his 16-year-old son, Eric, reportedly enrolled at a Tampa high school after attending Park Tudor High School in Indianapolis the last two years, and he insists that another early playoff exit won't change his thought process.

"This game won't really affect it at all," Dungy said. "We'll analyze it as this coming week goes on. I will sit down with my wife and talk to Jim and we'll come to a conclusion. I think we are all disappointed now and we are looking forward to next year and improving things."

Players, too, are uncertain about Dungy's plans.

Two-time league MVP Peyton Manning said he didn't know what to expect at Monday's annual end-of-the-season meeting. He declined to reflect on what Dungy has meant to him and his career.

"It's hard for me to think about at this point," Manning said. "I'm not sure what we'll find out at that meeting. It's always disappointing, in general, and it's hard to think about that at this point."

Other players appeared to lobby for Dungy's return, although they understand why Dungy would retire.