In a time of personal tragedy, Dungy's faith is letting him lead.(NFL)

He stood in front of the thousands gathered to mourn the death of his son, and he talked about faith, about love, about a teen struggling to find himself, about parenting and all its mysteries, about how he just wished he had hugged James when they last were together instead of waving goodbye. He was not a coach on this day; he was a father, a sad, hurting dad. But watching Tony Dungy, and listening to him, you could see how this quiet, modest person can gain the respect and loyalty of a team.

He is not phony. He does not preach. He has so much strength and belief that he is willing to admit to failures, to expose doubts, to question himself. Too often, those in sports flaunt their faith but lack true conviction. Dungy is not one of those men. His faith is shown through how he treats others--fairly, with dignity, with unending class--and how he conducts his life, with great courage and honesty. It will be shown now by how he deals with this tragedy, the nightmare of any parent, losing a child.

I learned so much about him last spring when we were doing a Father's Day ...