Wednesday, 04 December 2024

Don Shula

Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2024
Embed from Getty Images
Sport(s): Football
Statistics: 2 Super Bowls (VI & VII)
1 NFL Championship (1968)
4 AP Coach of the Year Awards (1964, 1967, 1968 & 1972)
328-156-6 NFL Record
19-17 NFL Postseason Record
Member of the NFL 100th Anniversary Team
Member of the 1970s All-Decade Team
Member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Member of the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll
A day may come when an NFL Head Coach has more wins than Don Shula, but that day isn't today, and Shula's 328 ticks in the win column put everyone else to shame.

A respectable defensive back in his day, Shula played seven seasons in the NFL, and the year after he quit playing, he went into coaching first as the defensive backs coach at Virginia. He stayed there only one year, moving on to Kentucky for a year, and then he was back in the pros, first with Detroit serving as the defensive back coach for one year, and then the defensive coordinator for two. Shula was so good that he was poached by the Baltimore Colts to be their head coach, which he took in 1963. He was only 33 years old.

Shula turned around the Colts, taking them to the NFL Championship in 1964 and Super Bowl III. The Colts lost both times, but Shuls never had a losing record in the seven years he ran Baltimore. Shula's relationship with Colts' owner, Carroll Rosenbloom, had deteriorated, and he received an offer from Joe Robbie, the owner of the Miami Dolphins that he could not refuse, and off to Florida, he went.

Under Shula, the Dolphins became an immediate power, and Miami won Super Bowl VII on an undefeated season, another record that no other NFL coach can claim. The Dolphins went back-to-back, winning Super Bowl VIII. This was Shula’s last championship, but not his last great team, as he routinely took Miami to the playoffs and only had two losing records with Miami.

The four-time Coach of the Year retired in 1995, and the city of Miami remains synonymous with the name Don Shula.

As it should be.

We are proud to nominate Don Shula for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.

Back to List