INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Colts coach Tony Dungy is lending his name and time to a new city program aimed at helping released inmates find jobs.

Dungy will work on linking ex-offenders with potential employers as chairman of the initiative announced Monday by Mayor Greg Ballard.

The city is seeking $1 million in grants for the program, which Ballard said would be a major priority for the city as a way to help keep the thousands of inmates released into Marion County each year stay out of criminal trouble.

“With 5,000 people coming out every year and a recidivism rate of 74 percent, this is a major public safety issue,” Ballard said.

Dungy’s community work has included participation in the Prison Crusade Ministry from his time as Tampa’s coach. President Bush last year appointed him to the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.

“We’re going to try to recruit the support of everyone to make our city better,” Dungy said Monday. “Not only for these ex-offenders, but for all of us.”