Tony Dungy has some issues with the NFL after watching the first week’s slate of games. The Hall of Fame coach thinks the play was sloppy and that the league needs more preseason games.
While there was certainly a lot of scoring, the opening week of the 2026 season had the most scoring (49.4 points per game) since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970; it was the bad tackling and mental errors that really bugged Tony Dungy.
“After watching Week 1 of the NFL season I believe we need a real preseason,” Dungy wrote on X. “I saw many players and teams who were not ready for the speed or contact of a real game. Tackling, penalties, mental errors, turned games around. Defenses especially can’t get ready without some contact.
“I think we’ll see much better play and have a different impression of many of these teams in October. So don’t get too high or too low on your team just yet.”
How can the NFL realistically fix the problems pointed out by Tony Dungy?
Ed McCaffrey, who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons in the National Football League and is the father of one of today’s best players, Christian McCaffrey, responded to Tony Dungy’s comments.
“Coach, mad respect. I agree the sloppy play went beyond defense,” he wrote. “But with 17 games likely headed to 18, the days of a real preseason seem over. Some teams looked much better prepared than others. So what’s the answer? How do you protect players while still getting them the work they need?”
Tony Dungy agreed with McCaffrey that it is indeed, a “very long season,” but still pushed back a little bit.
“But even the practice rules—limited time limited pads, limited contact—it’s hard to prepare for real speed and real contact without simulating that SOMETIME,” Dungy replied.
Tony Dungy responded to several other suggestions and observations
“You’re probably right on preseason but those games are unwatchable from fan perspective,” one fan commented.
“They are because nobody plays,” Tony Dungy responded. “In 1978 last preseason game Steelers vs Cowboys-Dallas beat us in the last seconds. Staubach, Dorsett, Pearson, Bradshaw, Swann, Stallworth all in the game on the last drives. It was exciting. And both those teams went to the Super Bowl that year.”
Dungy went on in other responses to comments to point out that “you can’t even practice full speed any more. You’re limited as to the number of times you can wear pads in practice. So you’re not ready to play in September. It becomes preseason except the results count.”
He may have a point there, but as a fan noted, “Coaches and executives are leery of injuries being incurred in meaningless games.” So it seems unlikely that the NFL will make any changes to the preseason.