RIP Don Shula

[DanielSimpsonDay]

 

[da man]

Proved he was one of the greatest coaches in football history by getting to the Super Bowl with David freaking Woodley at quarterback.

 

[DanOregon]

 

[MileHigh]

RIP to a legend.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Most famous grad from my university. Tim Russert No. 2.

Both RIP

 

[cyclingwriter2]

Most famous grad from my university. Tim Russert No. 2.

Both RIP

Without looking, John Carroll?

 

[Starman]

His numbers obviously speak for themselves. And, he seemed to be considerably less of a **** than many other of the legendary coaches.

 

[cyclingwriter2]

What a great coach and legacy. People forget he was a very solid/borderline star defensive back. Went to title games with five different quarterbacks, which shows how he was able to adapt. Started his coaching career by replacing a HOF coach in Ewbanks and ended it when a HOF coach Jimmy Johnson replaced him. (And yes, I know he replaced George Wilson in the middle there.)

 

[Michael_ Gee]

His numbers obviously speak for themselves. And, he seemed to be considerably less of a **** than many other of the legendary coaches.

Oh, he could be a ****. But usually it was at least related to something that would **** off even a regular person. It wasn't a style.

 

[playthrough]

Damn, what a life. Just feels weird to think of the NFL without him around.

 

[BTExpress]

Shoulda benched Morrall at halftime of SB III, dammit.

 

[exmediahack]

An all-time great run there in the early 1970s. Apparently not a jerk and pretty friendly to people.

As someone who watched a LOT of NFL from about 1981 on, I am, thus, surprised his teams didn’t win more that decade. The epic in Miami. That Patriots loss in 1985. (No blame on the 49ers SB - that team was an all-timer). By 1987 or so, always felt that the Dolphins were going to always be 11-5 and get knocked out a round too early.

 

[BTExpress]

Three horrific first-round defensive draft picks (Jackie Shipp, John Bosa, Eric Kumerow) in a four-year span in the mid-80s.

 

[Batman]

If you consider the pre-merger AFL and NFL title games as conference championships, is he the only Super Bowl-era coach to play in a conference championship game in four different decades? I'm guessing he and Landry might be the only ones to even do it in three.

 

[WriteThinking]

I loved football -- watching it, even playing a little -- and I could throw a good spiral -- much better than I can now -- that always surprised the boys I played with on the playground as a young, sixth-grade girl.

I always liked sports, but most of my love of football came from watching Miami games, in particular, because, as luck would have it, the team was at its zenith of success when I first became a serious fan a couple of years earlier. Given that I'd never been to Florida at that time in my life, how did I become a Miami fan, you ask? Go ahead, ask...

I'm someone who always has liked animals, and yes, Miami first became my favorite team because I especially loved dolphins. I still do (see avatar). They've been a lifelong passion of mine, something I know a lot about, and they have made me passionate about animal and ocean conservation throughout my life.

To this day, I also remember thinking that Shula was a pretty good-looking guy, and I never minded seeing TV shots of him on the sidelines. (I know, go ahead and laugh!).

But Shula's success, and that of the Dolphins, just made me all the happier to root for them, and I did. Despite my laughable roots in the team, I became a serious, knowledgeable fan, and I followed them religiously until sometime after the Dan Marino years.

Even today, depending on whom they were playing against, I'd probably still root for them in most games. They were my team.

 

[Starman]

Shoulda benched Morrall at halftime of SB III, dammit.

Yeah, yeah.

1) Morrall had been the MVP that season, rightly so.

2) Yes, he had thrown three picks in the first half. One was tipped up in the air after hitting the receiver in the hands, another came when the receiver broke the wrong way on his route. One INT was fully his fault.

3) Unitas was still hobbled with arm problems. In fact he never really returned to what he had been in his prime.

 

[BTExpress]

But he wouldn't have thrown the game.

 

[TigerVols]

Pretty damn good steakhouse owner.

/carnivore

 

[playthrough]

Pretty damn good steakhouse owner.

/carnivore

The Shula's in my city closed last year after a 20-year run. Massive steaks, decent memorabilia, meh service in my experience.

 

[Bronco77]

The Bum Phillips quote about Shula comes to mind: "He can take his'n and beat your'n and take your'n and beat his'n."

My first nine years in South Florida were his last nine years as Dolphins coach, and I always thought he could have won another Super Bowl in his final years if he hadn't had offensive and defensive coordinators (Gary Stevens, Tom Olivadotti) who were clearly in over their heads.