Mentor, student meet in Jets-Colts matchup

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Mentor and student. Rival coaches. Best friends.

On Saturday, Tony Dungy and Herman Edwards will meet socially for a few minutes, then send their teams onto the field and try to beat each other in the AFC playoffs.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," Edwards predicted as his AFC East champion New York Jets (9-7) prepared to play Dungy's wild-card Indianapolis Colts.

It also will be historic: the first time two black head coaches will meet in an NFL playoff game. But to Dungy and Edwards, it's just a chance to share some quality time together -- on opposite sidelines.

"We have the same philosophies, the same things are important to us," said Dungy, who as coach in Tampa Bay made Edwards his assistant head coach and defensive backfield coach with the Buccaneers. "We're both old-school, fundamental football guys, and being professional is important. We both believe it's more important the way you do things rather than the end result.

"But he's a much more fiery guy than I am. He's much more talkative than I am. That made for a nice balance in Tampa."

Edwards is off to a sensational start with the Jets, making the playoffs in both seasons as head coach, going 19-13. By comparison, Dungy went 16-16 in his first two years with the Bucs, making the playoffs in 1997.

Edwards also took over a team that didn't have a losing record in its previous four years and had a solid talent base. Dungy went to a bottom-feeder in the Bucs and made them perennial playoff contenders before being fired last January after a first-round playoff defeat in Philadelphia.

Dungy landed in Indianapolis, where he turned around the Colts.

Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil, who signed Edwards as an undrafted free agent out of college and made him a starter in Philadelphia, is Edwards' other coaching guru. He is 1-1 in head-to-head matchups with Vermeil.

This is the first time he will face Dungy, who is more like a brother to Edwards than father-figure Vermeil.

Now they seek a playoff victory against the other.

"You want to make sure you win that one because you are so competitive," Dungy said. "It's like family bragging rights."