INDIANAPOLIS – The winningest decade in NFL history is about to call Canton home in 2016.
Two pillars of the Colts' NFL-record 115 wins from 2000-09 will be honored with Pro Football Hall of Fame busts come August.
On Saturday night, Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy earned induction into a place where they will live forever in professional football lore.
Harrison was all but a lock going into Saturday night.
After two years of "waiting his turn" at the wide receiver position, a man who decorates the all-time receiving records books finally received that call.
"I'm more happy for the Colts organization and the city of Indianapolis," Harrison said on Saturday night.
"I'm so thankful and honored that I will be able to represent them both in the Hall of Fame. I want to personally thank Jim Irsay for drafting me in 1996. He promised me a Super Bowl. We can now say: 'Mission accomplished.'"
According to those in the selecting room on Saturday night, Dungy's debate was one of the most difficult.
The 46 selectors took 25:57 to debate Dungy, the fifth longest time among the 15 finalists (Edgerrin James was the third shortest debated, at just 9:55).
In the end, Dungy's ability to establish two winning cultures in Tampa Bay and Indianapolis was the difference.
Before Dungy's arrival to Tampa in 1996, the Bucs hadn't had a season of .500 or better in 13 years. Dungy took the Bucs to the playoffs in four of his six seasons.
Dungy then joined the Colts in 2002 and led them to the postseason in all seven of his seasons. The Colts had experienced the postseason just five times in the 25 seasons before Dungy took over.
"I got fired in Tampa and you don't know what's going to happen and where you're going to go, if you're going to go anywhere," Dungy said on Saturday, recounting 2002.
"I have to thank my boss, Jim Irsay. (He) gave me a call, left a message on my answering machine and he said, 'We want to build a team the right way in Indianapolis, we want to connect with our fans, we want to have a team that represents our city well.' He didn't talk about championships or any of that. He just talked about how he wanted to do it and he said, 'You're the man I want to lead this.' I got there and had that tremendous support from him, from Bill (Polian), and there were some tremendous players there. It was just the spirit of camaraderie, working together, and he set the tone and I just thank him for chosing me and wanting me to be part of it. It was a special, special seven years."
