INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Tony Dungy, who was fired by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers eight days ago, reached an agreement in principle on Tuesday to coach the Indianapolis Colts.
Colts president Bill Polian and Dungy's agent, Ray Anderson, are working out final details on a contract.
"Both parties expect things will go smoothly," Polian said. "An official introduction of coach Dungy is expected tomorrow (Wednesday)."
Dungy, 46, was also a candidate for the Carolina Panthers' coaching position, but admitted on Monday that he was "very interested" in the Colts' job. That is understandable with quarterback Peyton Manning, two-time rushing champion Edgerrin James and receiver Marvin Harrison forming the nucleus of the Colts' offense.
The major problem in Indianapolis is a defense which yielded an NFL-high 486 points this past season and cost coach Jim Mora his job. Colts president Bill Polian urged Mora to fire defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and when the coach refused, he was dismissed on January 8.
Polian has sacrificed defense in fitting huge contracts for Manning, James, Harrison and tight ends Marcus Pollard and Ken Dilger under the salary cap.
Dungy turned the Buccaneers into one of the league's premier defensive teams in six years as their coach and compiled a 54-42 record, but had little luck with choosing offensive coordinators.
In Indianapolis, Tom Moore will remain as the offensive coordinator.
Before Dungy arrived in Tampa Bay, the Bucs had endured 13 straight losing seasons and he is the only winning coach in a mostly dismal history of the franchise. But after the Bucs reached the NFC championship game two years ago, they fell short of expectations with back-to-back first-round playoff losses to the Philadelphia Eagles. Tampa Bay went 2-4 in playoff games under Dungy and failed to score a touchdown in its last three postseason contests.
Believing they could lure two-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Parcells out of retirement, the Bucs fired Dungy on January 14, two days after a 31-9 loss to the Eagles in the wild card round. However, Parcells turned down the job.
The Colts made back-to-back playoff appearances in 1999 and 2000 under Mora, but slipped to 6-10 this past season. Indianapolis lost seven of its last nine games and allowed 27 or more points in eight straight before a season-ending win over Denver.
The Colts also lost James to a torn ACL after an October 25 win at Kansas City, but rookie free agent Dominic Rhodes stepped in and rushed for 1,104 yards and nine touchdowns.
