Tony Dungy Coaching Peyton Manning, Jim Caldwell Through Rough Stretch

Filed under: Colts, NFL Coaching, FanHouse Exclusive, NFL Quarterbacks, NFL Analysis

Tony Dungy last talked to Peyton Manning around the NFL's midseason mark. But Dungy still connects with the Colts quarterback.

"We text quite a bit,'' Dungy said. "I sent him a text after the Dallas game on Sunday. I told him he was pressing. He said, 'You are right. We will get it right.' "

Dungy also catches up Colts coach Jim Caldwell by telephone frequently.

"We talk every other Monday,'' Dungy said. "He's going to weather this just fine. He understands what is at the root of it. What his team can and cannot do. Injuries, you can do nothing about. But the approach to the game, you can. Run the offense good enough and believe you are good enough. I think they will be. I know that is what Jim Caldwell is preaching.''

It is a familiar message, especially since Dungy coached the Colts for seven seasons (2002 through 2008) and led them to their Super Bowl XLI championship in 2007.

"They heard me preach that for seven years,'' Dungy said. "There are still enough of them there for that to come out.''

Zoe Saldana Rachel Perry Mary Elizabeth Winstead Piper Perabo Anna Kournikova