TONY DUNGY RETIRES AFTER 7 SEASONS WITH COLTS

After seven seasons with the Colts, Tony Dungy retires saying this was the right moment to do so. "These seven years have been better than I could ever have imagined," Dungy, the only black coach to win a Super Bowl, said at a news conference Monday. "I just have to thank everyone." Assistant head coach Jim Caldwell will replace Dungy. On and off for five years Dungy has debated on the option to retire and spend more tme with his family. He said he and his wife discussed the decision. "We just felt this was the right time," Dungy said. "Don't shed any tears for me. I got to live a dream most people don't get to live." Dungy is the Colts' franchise leader in victories. He went 85-27 in the regular season and 7-6 in the playoffs, including the victory over Chicago in the 2007 Super Bowl. "You don't always get to go out on top," Dungy said, "and it's hard to go out on top." Dungy also spent six seasons in Tampa Bay, rejuvenating a moribund franchise and turning it into a perennial Super Bowl contender in the late 1990s and the early part of this decade. He left Tampa with a career record of 54-42 in the regular season becoming the winningest coach in franchise history there, too, and got the Buccaneers to the NFC title game in 1999. He's the only coach in NFL history to produce six straight 12-win seasons and 10 consecutive playoff appearances. Dungy always said he intended to retire by the time he turned 50, but hung around longer because he enjoyed the game and the Colts players. But his family priorities won out this time. His son, Eric, will be a high school senior in the fall, and those close to him thought Dungy wanted to accompany his son on college visits. AP