Shula, ‘winningest’ coach in pro football history dies
Seahawks release Jones
MIAMI, May 5, (AP): Measuring Don Shula by wins and losses, no NFL coach had a better year. Or career.
He looked the part, thanks to a jutting jaw and glare that would intimidate 150-pound sports writers and 300-pound linemen alike. He led the Miami Dolphins to the only perfect season in NFL history, set a league record with 347 victories and coached in six Super Bowls.
Near the end of his career, Shula’s biography in the Dolphins’ media guide began with a quote from former NFL coach Bum Phillips: “Don Shula can take his’n and beat you’n, and he could take you’n and beat his’n.”
Shula died Monday at his home across Biscayne Bay from downtown Miami, the team said. He was 90.
“If there were a Mount Rushmore for the NFL, Don Shula certainly would be chiseled into the granite,” Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said in a statement.
Shula surpassed George Halas’ league-record 324 victories in 1993 and retired following the 1995 season, his 33rd as an NFL head coach. He entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997, and the induction ceremony took place at Canton, Ohio, 70 miles from his native Grand River.
Shula became the only coach to guide an NFL team through a perfect season when the Dolphins went 17-0 in 1972. They also won the Super Bowl the following season, finishing 15-2.
The 2007 Patriots flirted with matching the perfection of the ’72 Dolphins but lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl and finished 18-1.
The Indianapolis Colts have decided not to exercise their fifthyear option on starting safety Malik Hooker, which could make him an unrestricted free agent after next season.
Team officials faced a deadline to extend the deal but opted against it.
Hooker was Indy’s first-round draft pick in 2017, No. 15 overall, and showed play-making ability - when he was on the field. The 24-year-old Ohio State alum started fast, earning a starting job as a rookie and picking off three passes in his first seven games.
Then the injuries mounted. He missed the final nine games of 2017 with a knee injury and has wound up missing 14 games over his first three seasons.
Former third-round pick Nazair Jones was one of four players waived by the Seattle Seahawks as the team reached its 90-man roster limit.
Jones, running back Adam Choice, defensive tackle Shakir Soto and linebacker Pita Taumoepenu were all released. Jones was the only one to have played in a game for Seattle.
The defensive tackle had a promising rookie season in 2017, appearing in 11 games, recording two sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery. But injuries derailed the past two seasons. Jones appeared in only nine games in 2018 and didn’t play any games last season for Seattle due to a leg injury.
Linebacker Jake Ryan has signed a one-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens, who hope he can return to form after playing in only two games over the last two seasons.
Ryan tore his ACL in training camp with Green Bay in 2018 and missed the entire season.
He signed a two-year contract with Jacksonville last year but was hindered by knee problems and played in only two games, both on special teams.
The Dallas Cowboys signed quarterback Andy Dalton and waived Cooper Rush, who had been the backup to Dak Prescott since the middle of the 2017 season.
Dalton is guaranteed at least $3 million on the one-year deal that could be worth up to $7 million for the 32-year-old former Cincinnati starter. The Bengals released Dalton with a year remaining on his contract after drafting Joe Burrow first overall.