Don Shula Has Passed Away

“Don Shula was the patriarch of the Miami Dolphins for 50 years,” the statement said. “He brought the winning edge to our franchise and put the Dolphins and the city of Miami in the national sports scene. Our deepest thoughts and prayers go out to Mary Anne along with his children Dave, Donna, Sharon, Anne, and Mike.”

Shula, 90 years old, coached the Dolphins from 1970 to 1995. During that stretch, he was a four-time NFL coach of the year and won two Super Bowls. The 1972 Miami Dolphins went 14-0 and they are still the only team in NFL history to complete an undefeated season.

“That was probably the most special moment in my coaching career because I was 0-2 in my previous Super Bowls and I didn’t want to be 0-3,” Shula said to the Miami Herald. “People start to say bad things about you like you can’t win the big game. And that’s not a nice thing to have people say about you. So it was great. It took me off the hook.”

Before his tenure with the Dolphins, the legendary coach was the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions (1960-1962) and the head coach of the Baltimore Colts (1963-1969). Shula coached five different quarterbacks to Super Bowl appearances, including Johnny Unitas, Bob Griese, David Woolley, and Dan Marino.

Shula still holds the record for the most regular season (328) and career (348) wins as a head coach.

As a player, Shula was a defensive back for the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts and Washington Redskins. He had 21 career interceptions during his time in the NFL.

Shula was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. His legacy is forever enshrined in professional football and that will live on through his two sons, Mike and Dave. The former is the current quarterbacks coach for the Denver Broncos while the latter served as the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals from 1992 to 1996.

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