Winningest coach in NFL history, Shula dies at 90
MIAMI — Measuring Don Shula by wins and losses, no National Football League coach had a better year. Or career.
He looked the part, thanks to a jutting jaw and glare that would intimidate 150-pound sportswriters and 300-pound linemen alike.
Shula 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 Miami area home, the team said. He was 90.
“Don Shula was the patriarch of the Miami Dolphins for 50 years,” the Dolphins said in a statement. “He brought the winning edge to our franchise and put the Dolphins and the city of Miami in the national sports scene.”
Shula surpassed George Halas’s league-record 324 victories in 1993 and retired following the ’95 season, his 33rd as an NFL head coach. He entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in ’97, and the induction ceremony took place at Canton, Ohio, 110 kilometres 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.
When asked in ’97 if he was the greatest coach in NFL history, Shula said he didn’t know how to measure that, but added, “I always thought that’s why they keep statistics and wins and losses.”
Shula reached the playoffs in four decades and coached three Hall of Fame quarterbacks: Johnny Unitas, Bob Griese and Dan Marino.
Shula always enjoyed talking about the 17-0 team, and he and his 1972 players drew criticism for the way they savoured their unique status each season.
“People think we’re a bunch of angry old guys who can’t wait for that last undefeated team to get beat,” Shula said in 2010. “We’re very proud of our record, and if somebody breaks it, I’m going to call that coach and congratulate them. Until they do, it’s our record, and we’re proud of it.”
As for regrets, Shula put not winning a Super Bowl with Marino at the top of the list.