"I'm here to announce that Tony Dungy is still our coach," team owner Jim Irsay said at a news conference at the team's West 56th Street facility.

Dungy informed the team today of his decision, which was arrived at after he consulted with his wife, Lauren, at the family's home in Tampa, Fla.

"I love this franchise. I love my family. My decision ... was, 'Can I give my family and the franchise the energy and passion that they both deserve?' " said Dungy, who called the announcement a "mutual decision" between him and his wife. "I'm happy to be back. My whole family's happy and hopefully our team and everyone here is happy."

Irsay also confirmed that associate head coach Jim Caldwell, 53, would replace Dungy when Dungy decides to leave.

"We thought it was in our best interest to have a transition plan in place that would allow Jim to that know he's a guy, that in the future, I look to be our head coach some day," Irsay said. "But I say some day, because this isn't a victory-lap tour for Tony. This isn't just definitely one year or something like that."

Said Colts President Bill Polian, "This is a process that we've gone through privately for each of the past three years because Tony has said many times that coaching isn't what he's going to do forever, and at the end of each season he sits down and, in conjunction with Jim Irsay and myself, talks through the various issues."

Dungy, 52, is the winningest coach in Colts history, with an 80-28 record, and directed the franchise to its first Super Bowl championship in 36 years last February. He became the first black coach to lead a team to a Super Bowl title when the Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17.