Don Shula: The Legendary Coach of the Miami Dolphins
Don Shula, the longtime Miami Dolphins coach and architect of the only perfect season in NFL history, died at his South Florida home on Monday, May 4, according to the team. He was 90 years old.
Coaching Achievements
No NFL head coach has won more than Shula, who coached for 33 seasons and won an impressive 347 games. He coached the Baltimore Colts in the 1960s before leading the Dolphins from 1970 to 1995.
Shula won two Super Bowls with the Dolphins in the early ’70s.
The 1972 Dolphins remain the only team in NFL history to finish their season undefeated.
Shula was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997.
Shula played defensive back during his playing career in the 1950s. This photo was taken in 1957, when he played with the Washington Redskins.
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Shula got his coaching start in 1960, when he became defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions.
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Shula is carried by members of the Baltimore Colts after they clinched a division title in 1964. Shula became the Colts’ head coach in 1963.
Shula became the Colts’ head coach in 1963 at just 33 years old, making him the league’s youngest head coach in history. The Colts found tremendous success under his leadership and were heavy favorites to win Super Bowl III before facing an upset by the New York Jets in 1969. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Shula draws up a play for Detroit’s Terry Barr, left, and Baltimore’s Johnny Unitas at a Pro Bowl meeting in 1965.
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Shula walks onto the field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1972. Shula became head coach of the Miami Dolphins in 1970.
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Shula speaks with the media after a game in New York in 1972.Shula is carried off the field after the Dolphins won Super Bowl VII, capping a perfect season.
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Shula is congratulated atop a toll booth in Miami after a highway was named after him in 1983.
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Shula and Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino meet the press together in 1985.
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Shula coaches a game in San Diego in the mid-1980s.Shula is surrounded by cameras after a win against Kansas City in 1993.
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Shula announces his retirement in 1996. He had coached the Dolphins for 26 seasons.
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Shula plays with Jim Colbert at a charity golf tournament in 1996.Shula is joined by his wife, Mary Anne, after receiving his Hall of Fame ring in Miami in 1997.
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Shula talks about Marino during halftime of a game in 2000.
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President Barack Obama points to Shula as the 1972 Dolphins were recognized at the White House in 2013.Shula and former Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese have lunch and watch horses at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida, in 2017.Shula was among the Top 100 that was honored by the NFL before Super Bowl LIV in February 2020.
