R.I.P. Don Shula

Former Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula, winner of a record 347 NFL games, died on May 4th, 2020 at the age of 90.

Shula led the 1972 Miami Dolphins to the only unbeaten, untied team in the playoff era of the NFL, going 14-0 in the regular season, then winning two playoff games and Super Bowl VII over the Washington Redskins to finish 17-0. The Dolphins followed that season with a 12-2 record and another Super Bowl championship, beating the Minnesota Vikings. It was the third straight Super Bowl appearance for Miami; the Dolphins lost Super Bowl VI to the Dallas Cowboys. Over that three year stretch, Shula was an incredible 44-5-1.

Shula began his NFL head coaching career in 1963 with the Baltimore Colts. His 1967 Colts were 11-1-2, losing only the season finale to the Los Angeles Rams. At that time, only division winners advanced to the playoffs, and the also 11-1-2 Rams made the post season on the basis of tie breakers. In 1968, the Colts were 13-1 in the regular season, and advanced to Super Bowl III. At that time, it was still the pre merger NFL, so the Colts were the NFL champions, and faced the AFL champion New York Jets. The heavily favored Colts lost 16-7 to the Joe Namath led Jets.

After one more season with Baltimore, Shula was hired as Miami’s head coach in 1970, a position he held through the 1995 season. Besides the three straight Super Bowls in the early 70s, Shula coached the Dolphins to two more Super Bowls, losing to Washington in Super Bowl XVII following the 1982 season, and losing to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XIX following the 1984 season.

Shula retired after the 1995 season. His overall record, including playoffs, was 347-173-6 as a head coach in the NFL. Shula was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.

Here’s a link to an NFL Films’s recap of that 1972 perfect season.