DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum RIP Don Shula

A legend and local/national icon. RIP coach

An icon of football in my life. By all accounts a good man. RIP coach.

RIP Coach.

Don Shula, winningest head coach in NFL history who led Dolphins to perfect season, dies at age 90 - CBSSports.com
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/don-s...dies-at-age-90/

Don Shula, the winningest head coach in NFL history, died Monday morning at age 90, the Miami Dolphins confirmed in a statement released by the team. Shula won 347 games in the regular season and postseason in his NFL career, including two Super Bowl titles with the Dolphins (1972 and 1973). He was an NFL head coach for 33 seasons.

"Don Shula was the patriarch of the Miami Dolphins for 50 years," the team statement reads. "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 took the Dolphins to prominence in the 1970s, leading the 1972 team to the only perfect season in league history. The 1972 Dolphins finished the season 17-0 and were the only team to win their first 17 games in a season until the 2007 New England Patriots, who lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. Shula won five AFC championships with the Dolphins and finished with a 257-133-2 (.659 win percentage) in his 26 seasons coaching the team. The Dolphins won 67 games in Shula's first seven seasons (1970 to 1976) and had a .817 win percentage during that stretch, the best in the NFL.

Shula finished with a 328-156-6 regular season record with the Dolphins and Baltimore Colts. His .677 win percentage is the seventh-best in NFL history (minimum 10 seasons coached).

Bum Phillips said "He could take his'n and beat your'n, or he could take your'n and beat his'n.", which is about the greatest tribute you could pay a coach.

RIP, Coach Shula.

90 years is a good run. RIP.

that certainly is a great quote

Big loss in the football world . RIP

Praying for his family ...

Sorry to hear the news.


Rest well, Don.



A great coach, and he had a good brand of steakhouses as well.


Quality, just like him.

The NFL lost a legend. Loved watching his teams.....cept when vs the Browns.

RIP Coach Shula.

Really was smart in taking his talent and building a game plan around it.
In the 70s installed a 3 headed monster running game and a game Manager QB
then in the 80s unleashed a devastating aeriel attack under Marino

The '64 NFL championship game loss to the Browns had to be one of his most bitter defeats. His Colts came in here as prohibitive favorites, and they got boat-raced by the Browns. IIRC, he returned the favor by thrashing us in the '68 championship game.

RIP, ... Don Shula was a teammate and good friend of my first wifes father in high school.

I hadn’t realized he coached the Colts in 64

There’s a headline I didn’t want to read. RIP Coach!

j/c:

I didn't like the Dolphins, but I have to say that Shula was a great coach.

What I most respected about him is that he ran the crap out of the ball and played very conservatively when he had Griese, Czonka, Kiick, and Mercury Morris and then went crazy w/the passing game when he had Marino and The Mark's Brothers.

That is a coach who adjusts his scheme and philosophies to best utilize his personnel. I can't give a coach much more praise than that!

Most excellent quote! He was my hero coaching and made it look easy. Right up there with some others that were role models to me like Brown and Lombardi. Loved watching his offense and the "No-Name Defense."

Thanks for the love of the game you shared with and instilled within so many people.

RIP, Coach Shula. Prayers for those you loved and those that love you in this time of loss.

I was going to make the same point that you and Stripper made.

He didn't try to mold the team in his image, he went with what he had.

More coaches need to think like Don Shula. He was the master of adjustment.

If you have a Dan Marino, get some pass blockers and a few receivers. If you have a three headed horse in Csonka, Kick, and Morris, get some run blockers and let them run.

It didn't hurt that Griese was a good QB who had Paul Warfield and TE Tony Mandarich working over the middle and up the seam.


On a side note, go watch some vids, Larry Csonka was a bad man.

Larry is an ass.

Good post, but I think you meant Jim Mandach at TE. Tony Mandarich was OT from Michigan State who used too many steroids and busted out after being a first round draft choice.

it was sad to hear about Shula, but Damn, 90 years is a good long run.. RIP Don

A giant in the football coaching fraternity.

Never read or heard a bad word spoken about him. I saw that he’d passed and thought ‘another legend gone’.

RIP, sir.

Indeed. Thanks for the correction.

Went to same school system,friendly with,would hang out with after his career over,as one of his players on Miami team. Melvin always spoke very respectfully of Coach Shula. His favorite saying was: You always respected Coach Shula because what he told us was gospel. If he said the sky was green than the sky was green and you listened and believed. RIP Coach

Damn..........I am usually pretty good w/recalling former players.........but, I am drawing a blank. Irritating me. LOL

Who was Melvin?

I never recalled a Melvin playing for Shula.
I remember RB Delvin Williams
But not a Melvin

I have a pretty good memory, but am drawing a blank. Passionate doesn't post much. Hope he answers the question because I am curious. It's probably a guy where I'll say......"I can't believe I didn't think of him."

Not too many Melvins in the NFL.

Found this one who played for Miami in 1974 - Melvin Baker.

Melvin Cunningham, 1997. (I don't remember him, I used the Google machine.)

I don't remember that dude. I just researched him and he was from Houston, Texas. I think Passionate is from Campbell, OH.

This is driving me nuts. I hate when I can't figure something out.

I'm joking.........kinda/sorta. LOL

Cunningham was born in Hunington, WV.

Hmmmm.........maybe it was a nickname or something?

Melvin Fowler was a centre for the Browns some years ago. Forgotten already, apparently.

Not the same guy who may have played with Miami in the early 70s.

Melvin Land,played one season at Miami and if memory serves me one at SF. Played DE,LB

I'll be damned. I really don't remember the guy at all. But, I just looked it up and you are right that he played 1 year in Miami and 1 in SF.

Also from school system at time I was attending or involved there were three more players who had NFL careers and another who a career ending preseason injury: Andy Cverko (OL)and Bob Babich (LB) both of our Browns,Larry Carwell (DB)Boston,Houston and Walt Vrable (OT)with Eagles (if recall correctly) before injury.