Don Shula, Hall of Fame head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 1970-1995, passed away at the ripe old age of 90.
The man's accomplishments will likely stand another 90 years, easily. Here's how his 26 season marriage in Miami began:
The 1970 Miami Dolphins season was the team's fifth, and first in the National Football League (NFL). It was the team's first winning season, first playoff appearance, and first of 26 seasons under head coach Don Shula. The team improved on their 3–10–1 record from 1969, and finished the regular season at 10–4, second in the newly-aligned AFC East to only the Baltimore Colts, the eventual Super Bowl champion.
The Dolphins got off to a fresh start at 4–1, but lost three straight to even their record at 4–4. Miami then won six straight to end the season to clinch their first-ever winning season and playoff berth, as the wild card team. They met the Oakland Raiders in the opening divisional round, whom they had defeated in Miami in early October,[1] but lost 21–14 on the road in the sun and mud.[2][3][4]
Shula had moved over to the Dolphins in mid-February 1970, after seven seasons as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, now in the same division.[5][6]
What other NFL head coach has turned a losing expansion team around so quickly, won two of three straight Super Bowls and notched an undefeated season in the process? I'll wait!!!
Don Shula ranks right up there with the old greats that have made the National Football League America's favorite sport. And I am one of the lucky ones who as a kid began watching games just as Don Shula started his reign in Miami. Although I held Cowboys head coach Tom Landry in high regard during that 1970's era, I always had much respect for Shula and the Dolphins organization; who didn't!
Shula
1930-2020
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