Hall of Fame Head Coach Rants On NFL Playoff Schedule

Tony Dungy, a Super Bowl-winning head coach, isn’t happy with how the NFL does its playoff schedule.

Dungy won Super Bowl XIII as a player while he was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and then led the Indianapolis Colts to Super Bowl XLI when he was the head coach. Since his coaching career ended in 2008, Dungy started working as an NFL analyst.

Given that Dungy has been around the NFL for decades, he has some ideas for improvement

“NFL playoff scheduling is not fair,” Dungy wrote on X. “It might produce good ratings, but it’s not fair. This late in the season, recovery time is crucial, and it is not given equally. The Rams & Bears played Saturday games. They will face each other on Sunday with an extra day of rest. The 49ers played on Sunday and will face Seattle on Saturday, a short week of recovery. Why?

“In the AFC the Bills will have to travel to Denver on a short week. Why? Because there’s a Monday night AFC Wild Card game. The Texans play Pittsburgh. The winner will automatically have a short week and travel to New England. Why?”

Dungy doesn’t understand the need for the Monday Night playoff game, as he believes it’s a massive disadvantage for the winner.

“Several years ago the league did away with Monday Night games in Week 18 of the regular season because it created a disadvantage if one of those teams made the playoffs. Now we create that disadvantage. The Wild Card round should be 3 games on Saturday and 3 games on Sunday.

“Then try to schedule the Divisional games so the teams have equal rest. Don’t force San Francisco, Buffalo and Houston or Pittsburgh to play the most important game of their season on a short week just for TV ratings. That is not fair!”

Although Dungy isn’t a fan, the NFL likely won’t be moving away from this playoff schedule anytime soon.

Dungy was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.