The Indianapolis Colts are out of the 2008 NFL Postseason after an overtime loss to Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers 23-17 in a Sunday night AFC Wildcard showdown. Is this the end of Tony Dungy’s coaching career?

Al Michaels and John Madden discussed after the game, that Tony would make a decision about his football future one week after his 2008 season ends. Well, expect to hear from Tony before next Sunday that he is leaving NFL football.

Yes, that is the consensus among those who know him best. Tony has experienced the pinnacle of NFL coaches - a SuperBowl championship. He also had tradgedy in his personal life with the death of his son James, who committed suicide on December 22, 2005.

Many believe that Coach Dungy will spend his time at home, with his wife Lauren Harris of Pittsburgh and has two daughters, Tiara and Jade, and three sons, Eric, Jordan and Justin.

In addition to spending time with his family, he is expected to spend time in civic activities. In fact, in August 2007, President George W. Bush appointed Dungy a member of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. The 25-member council represents leaders from government, business, entertainment, athletics and non-profit organizations committed to growing the spirit of service and civic participation. The two-year appointment requires attendance at two in-person meetings per year and quarterly phone conversations with assigned committees

Tony is a former professional American football player and the current head coach of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Prior to that, between 1996 and 2001, he was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He became the first African American head coach to win the Super Bowl when his Colts defeated the Chicago Bears on February 4, 2007. On December 18, 2008 after securing his tenth straight playoff appearance with a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dungy set a new NFL Record for consecutive playoff appearances by a Head Coach.

If Tony does retire he will be certainly be missed and go down in NFL history with some impressive coaching records. If he had his way, I think he would rather be known as a humble man with a passion to help others.

Here is it. The last Sunday NFL game in the 2008 regular season. The Denver Broncos play the San Diego Chargers for the AFC West Championship.  John Madden and Al Michaels will be in the booth for the game.

GAME INFO
Date: Sunday, Dec 28, 2008
Kickoff:  8:15 PM ET
Teams: Denver Broncos vs San Diego Chargers
Location: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego California
TV: NBC

THE LINE (subject to change)
The Chargers are favorite by 8 points (-7).  The Under/Over is 49

THE MATCHUP
The winner is the champion of the AFC West. The loser goes home.
Denver is 8-7 overall and 4-3 on the road. They are 3-2 in the AFC West and 5-6 in the AFC
San Diego is 7-8 overall and 4-3 at home. They are 4-1 in the AFC West and 6-5 in the AFC
AGAINST THE SPREAD (ATS)
The Broncos are 5-10 overall ATS. They are 4-3 ATS away, 4-2 ATS underdog and 3-2 ATS as an away underdog.

The Chargers are 6-9 overall ATS.  They are 3-4 ATS at home, 4-8 ATS as the favorite and 3-4 ATS as home favorite

PREVIEW
Philip Rivers is on a serious roll and he is averaging 270 yards with 2.2 TDs vs just 0.5 interceptions for a simulation passer rating of 114. With Jay Cutler mustering just an 82 rating the Chargers are heavy 84 percent favorites. The Broncos lost 2 more RBs to injury and Tatum Bell and recently signed Cory Boyd are averaging well under 4 ypc. The Broncos have relied solely on the passing offense to win games this year. To pull off the upset they not only need a huge 3 TD performance from Jay Cutler, they also need the defense to sack Rivers twice and have at least 2 Chargers turnovers. In these simulations the Broncos pull even with an average simulation score of 30-30.
 
PREDICTION (ATS)
San Diego Chargers 35   Denver Broncos 14
Phillip Rivers will lead the Chargers into the Post season.  The Denver Broncos will not be able to overcome 2 more injuries to their running backs. Expect a high scoring affair - at least for the Chargers.