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Don Shula after having coached for 33 years ,26 years with the Miami Dolphins and 7 years with the Baltimore Colts comprised a record of
347-173-6 (.665)a feat that will probably never be duplicated. The first coach to ever lead an NFL team to an undefeated season of 17-0 and lead a team to three straight Super Bowls.This was in a period when there were mostly 14 game seasons and two seasons where there were strikes.
Shula had two losing seasons within his tenure as head coach,where he won at least 6 games, he was 6-8 in 1976 and 6-10 in 1989. George Halas was the only other coach to win 300 games.
My question is, is there any possibility or probability of other coaches surpassing Shula's record ? Most of the veteran coaches have retired ,Joe Gibbs just recently so it leaves very few with a chance and other coaches a long way to go.
And, that's one heckuva record. I can imagine his win/loss record getting beaten someday by some coach. But what I cannot so easily imagine is another coach staying with one team for 26 years like he did with the fish.
Don Shula died at his home in Florida on Monday 04 May 2020, he was 90. His record is now complete....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Shulaashingtonpost.com/sports/2020/05/04/driven-disciplined-job-don-shula-also-found-room-graciousness/"]Story on WaPo today[/url].
Excerpt: "He was known by his players and the media covering him as “Old Jut-Jaw,” but that facial feature is hardly what defined Hall of Fame coach Don Shula, who died at his Indian Creek, Fla., home Monday at 90 and remains the only man ever to guide an NFL team to a perfect season. That was the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who went 17-0 that memorable season, capped by a 14-7 victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. Shula became the youngest coach in NFL history when the Baltimore Colts hired him at 33 in 1963, and when he retired after 26 years with Miami, he had won 347 games, including the postseason — still a league record."
In Baltimore, most Baltimore Colts fans revered him.
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To me, he was always the Johnny Carson of football coaches, meaning the greatest, like Carson of late night TV.
He was exposed by Bill Walsh in the Super Bowl, but Walsh was one of the greatest of all time as well. Shula at least has the only undefeated team in league history.
Don Shula after having coached for 33 years ,26 years with the Miami Dolphins and 7 years with the Baltimore Colts comprised a record of
347-173-6 (.665)a feat that will probably never be duplicated. The first coach to ever lead an NFL team to an undefeated season of 17-0 and lead a team to three straight Super Bowls.This was in a period when there were mostly 14 game seasons and two seasons where there were strikes.
Shula had two losing seasons within his tenure as head coach,where he won at least 6 games, he was 6-8 in 1976 and 6-10 in 1989. George Halas was the only other coach to win 300 games.
My question is, is there any possibility or probability of other coaches surpassing Shula's record ? Most of the veteran coaches have retired ,Joe Gibbs just recently so it leaves very few with a chance and other coaches a long way to go.
Belichick is closing in. Also it’s not mentioned much, but Shula had very good success in the early 80s with David Woolley as his QB, and no speed at running back. Bill Arnsperger deserves plenty of credit for orchestrating the Killer Bee defense thru 1983, but Shula won a lot in that era leading up to Dan Marino’s emergence, with zero Hall-of-Famers.
Belichick is closing in. Also it’s not mentioned much, but Shula had very good success in the early 80s with David Woolley as his QB, and no speed at running back. Bill Arnsperger deserves plenty of credit for orchestrating the Killer Bee defense thru 1983, but Shula won a lot in that era leading up to Dan Marino’s emergence, with zero Hall-of-Famers.
caj727 is right. Good points here.
By my best guess, Don Shula is the only head coach in league history to start 4 quarterbacks in 4 super bowls; Earl Morrall, Bob Griese, Davis Woodley, and Dan Marino. And did it in 3 decades.
Shula was a strict disciplinarian but not to be unwilling to suggestion. Both Bob Griese and Dan Marino have been quoted to say that he always valued input from the quarterbacks and was able to adapt to his quarterback's strengths. Ever since Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka, and Jim Kiick bolted in 1975 to join Memphis in the failed WFL, all he had for a star halfback was Mercury Morris. And when he retired he had a lot of backs who were just journeymen players; Ron Davenport,Tony Nathan, Terry Kirby, Bernie Parmalee, Benny Malone, Delvin Williams, and lots of others. No pro bowl back to take the pressure off Marino. But Dan never complained, IMO he had a special relationship with his coach.
Back to Csonka, Warfield, and Kiick--all they wanted was more money because keep in mind, in those days most NFL players had off season jobs. In the NFL Films "Don Shula-A Football Life", pro bowl defensive back Dick Anderson remarked that in his rookie season he made $16,000 as a rookie and by his 3rd year his was up to $22,000. Yeow! And every owner in the league know much of a skinflint owner Joe Robbie was, but to go on that super bowl run the way Miami did?
If those 3 players hadn't walked there is no doubt in my mind that Miami could have gotten to 3 in a row, maybe 4. and sadly Shula sank to 6-8 in 1975, one of only 2 seasons where he lost more games than he won. To me, that is a remarkable stat. All told he had 33 seasons as a head coach and he only had 2 losing seasons. What if he had free agency to work with besides just the last few years he coached the Dolphins? He knew the game inside and out--and yes, there was a few games where his club lost by 3, maybe 4 touchdowns, but not very damn many.
Total regular season and playoff games won is 347. A remarkable stat for a coach with a remarkable career.
By my best guess, Don Shula is the only head coach in league history to start 4 quarterbacks in 4 super bowls; Earl Morrall, Bob Griese, Davis Woodley, and Dan Marino. And did it in 3 decades.
Shula was a strict disciplinarian but not to be unwilling to suggestion. Both Bob Griese and Dan Marino have been quoted to say that he always valued input from the quarterbacks and was able to adapt to his quarterback's strengths. Ever since Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka, and Jim Kiick bolted in 1975 to join Memphis in the failed WFL, all he had for a star halfback was Mercury Morris. And when he retired he had a lot of backs who were just journeymen players; Ron Davenport,Tony Nathan, Terry Kirby, Bernie Parmalee, Benny Malone, Delvin Williams, and lots of others. No pro bowl back to take the pressure off Marino. But Dan never complained, IMO he had a special relationship with his coach.
Back to Csonka, Warfield, and Kiick--all they wanted was more money because keep in mind, in those days most NFL players had off season jobs. In the NFL Films "Don Shula-A Football Life", pro bowl defensive back Dick Anderson remarked that in his rookie season he made $16,000 as a rookie and by his 3rd year his was up to $22,000. Yeow! And every owner in the league know much of a skinflint owner Joe Robbie was, but to go on that super bowl run the way Miami did?
If those 3 players hadn't walked there is no doubt in my mind that Miami could have gotten to 3 in a row, maybe 4. and sadly Shula sank to 6-8 in 1975, one of only 2 seasons where he lost more games than he won. To me, that is a remarkable stat. All told he had 33 seasons as a head coach and he only had 2 losing seasons. What if he had free agency to work with besides just the last few years he coached the Dolphins? He knew the game inside and out--and yes, there was a few games where his club lost by 3, maybe 4 touchdowns, but not very damn many.
Total regular season and playoff games won is 347. A remarkable stat for a coach with a remarkable career.
The tragic death of David Overstreet in the 1983 offseason (after Marino’s rookie season) was a huge blow too. A blossoming running back for sure. Tony Nathan and Keith Byars were excellent fullbacks in many ways. The likes of Bernie Parmalee had their shining moments. But the Dolphins never possessed that consistent, slashing tailback during the Marino regime. Before that, there was other bad luck. The WFL, as you mentioned. Killer playoff losses. The “Sea of Hands” game following the 3 year Super Bowl run. The classic 1981-82 Epic in Miami game. The 82 Super Bowl, a game which Miami led much of the way and 3 very unlucky plays in the 4th quarter, and then the shocking 83 loss to Seattle, probably Miami’s very best team with Marino on the roster (not to mention Overstreet). The last two seasons of the Shula regime were very difficult as well: the crushing last second loss to the Chargers, and the 1995 team that started hot and laid down and quit in what turned into a tumultuous time off and on the field, forcing Shula’s resignation. It was sad how the last portion of his career went, but in composite, any NFL head coach would have loved to have Don Shula’s overall career.
Belichick is closing in. Also it’s not mentioned much, but Shula had very good success in the early 80s with David Woolley as his QB, and no speed at running back. Bill Arnsperger deserves plenty of credit for orchestrating the Killer Bee defense thru 1983, but Shula won a lot in that era leading up to Dan Marino’s emergence, with zero Hall-of-Famers.
Yeah, for a point there, he was considered one of the game's best defensive minds.
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Don Shula passes at age 70
