Here are two major coaching lessons Tony Dungy learned from Bill Belichick

Tony Dungy got an early up-close lesson in Bill Belichick's coaching ability.

The Super Bowl-winning Indianapolis Colts coach discussed Belichick over the weekend, in the wake of Belichick's separation from the New England Patriots after 24 seasons. Belichick is interviewing for other NFL coaching jobs.

Dungy recalled being in New York Giants training camp and being pulled aside by Belichick for a deep dive into how to block a punt.

"I played on the punt return team, and I'd always played outside, holding up the gunners," Dungy said. "He had me go try to block a punt and I missed the ball.

"He took me out after practice and said, 'This is what you have to do. You have to focus on the punter's foot. ... You never go up, you go out. You visualize the ball.'

"He worked with me for about 30 minutes. The next day I blocked a punt."

The paths of Dungy and Belichick crossed again several years later, when Dungy interviewed for a job on a Bill Parcells-coached team that included Belichick on the staff.

Belichick asked Dungy how he would address a certain game situation. Dungy replied that he had never seen that situation, so he hadn't considered it.

Belichick's response: "You always have to have an answer, even if you haven't seen it."

Dungy said he carried those lessons into his coaching career, which included the Colts' Super Bowl XLI victory. That run, of course, included a win over Belichick's Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

"I always told my team, 'We're going to have to beat them because they aren't going to beat themselves,'" Dungy said.