By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tony Dungy is sticking with the Colts.
Dungy announced Monday he would coach Indianapolis through at least the 2008 season and possibly longer before turning over the duties to hand-picked successor Jim Caldwell.
Dungy, the first black coach to win a Super Bowl, spent a week meeting with his family, close friends and trusted colleagues while deciding whether to return for a seventh season with the Colts.
It's the third straight year Dungy seriously considered retiring.
''I wouldn't shortchange my family,'' he said. ''I wouldn't come back if my wife or my children were not for it.''
The debate focused on Dungy's desire to balance family and football, especially after his family moved back to Tampa earlier this month. His 16-year-old son Eric now attends high school there, and team owner Jim Irsay said he was willing to let Dungy spend more time in Florida.
But Dungy said he didn't plan to alter his approach to his family, his job or his team.
''I don't anticipate it changing at all,'' Dungy said. ''I'm writing a letter, like I always do, to the team and am telling them nothing's changing.''
Dungy is the first coach in Colts history to make the playoffs and win at least 10 games six consecutive years. He has won five straight AFC South titles, taking the Colts to two AFC championship games, and winning last year's Super Bowl, the first with two black coaches, as Indy beat Chicago.
Dungy's 80 wins in Indianapolis, including the playoffs, are a franchise record, and he ranks fifth in victories among those who coached in 2007 with 136 career wins, which includes playoffs. He enters next season tied for 19th in career wins with Hank Stram.
When Dungy does retire, the Colts already have his replacement in Caldwell.