Don Shula

1930-

American football coach

The winningest coach in professional football, Don Shula compiled an unparalleled record of 347-173-6 over thirty-three seasons coaching in the National Football League (NFL). On November 14, 1993, as coach of the Miami Dolphins, Shula broke the record of 324 wins set by the legendary George Halas . Shula went on to extend

his record of wins to 347 before stepping down as coach of the Dolphins at the end of the 1995 football season. Shula began his coaching career in 1963 when, at the age of thirty-three, he took over the reins of the Baltimore Colts to become the youngest head coach in the NFL. Throughout his career, Shula led six teams to the Super Bowl, winning twice. In what was the high point of his coaching career, Shula in 1972 coached the Dolphins to a perfect record of 17-0, the only NFL team to go undefeated for an entire season.

Born in Grand River, Ohio

He was born Donald Francis Shula in Grand River, Ohio, on January 4, 1930. The son of Dan and Mary (Miller) Shula, he began playing football while still quite young and at the tender age of eleven was forbidden by his parents to play the game anymore after sustaining a bad facial cut during a neighborhood scrimmage. But Shula was not to be so easily dissuaded. In 1942 he forged his parents' signatures on a permission slip so that he could play football at school but was sidelined by a case of pneumonia just before the season began. Encouraged by an assistant coach to return to the game as soon as possible, a healthy Shula later rejoined the team but kept his football participation a secret from his parents until he was named a starter. As a senior at Thomas W. Harvey High School, Shula was named All-Ohio quarterback in 1946. He went on to become a star player at John Carroll University in Cleveland, gaining 125 yards in a 21-15 upset over Syracuse University. Recruited by a number of professional teams, Shula eventually signed with the Cleveland Browns for whom he played defense for the next couple of years before being traded in 1953 to the Baltimore Colts.

Shula spent three seasons with the Colts before being traded in 1956 to the Washington Redskins. His professional playing career ended in 1957. The following year he married Dorothy Bartish and joined the University of Virginia's football coaching staff as assistant coach. In 1959 he joined the coaching staff at the University of Kentucky and two years later broke into the professional coaching ranks when he signed on as defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions. Shula spent two years with the Lions and in 1963 became the youngest head coach in NFL history when he agreed to lead the Baltimore Colts. Only thirty-three at the time, Shula wasted little time in making his mark with the Colts. In his second season at the helm of the Colts, he led the team to a 12-2 record and earned for himself the first of six Coach of the Year awards.

Coaches Colts to Super Bowl III

In their third and fourth seasons under Shula's direction, the Colts compiled still-impressive records of 10-3-1 and 9-5, respectively. In 1967 the Colts barreled back with a record of 11-1-2 but again failed to make it to the Super Bowl. Shula's dream of coaching a team into the Super Bowl came true in 1968. On the strength of an extraordinary 13-1 record in the regular season, the Colts faced off against the New York Jets in Super Bowl III but were handed an upset by the New Yorkers. In his final season with the Colts, Shula coached the Baltimore team to a winning—but disappointing—record of 8-5-1 in 1969. Looking for a new challenge, Shula turned his attention southward. In 1970 he signed on as new head coach of the Miami Dolphins, which had ended its 1969 season with a dismal record of 3-10-1.

Chronology

Shula quickly turned things around in Miami, coaching the Dolphins to winning records of 10-4 and 10-3-1 his first two seasons with the team. The Dolphins capped off their 1971 season with a visit to the Super Bowl, where they lost, 24-3, to the Dallas Cowboys. In 1972 Shula's Dolphins turned in a perfect 14-0 regular season (with another three wins in the playoffs), an achievement that has never been duplicated in NFL history. Miami then went on to win its first Super Bowl, defeating the Redskins, 14-7. After compiling a record of 12-2 in the regular 1973 season, the Dolphins powered their way back to the Super Bowl where they crushed the Minnesota Vikings, 24-7. Shula's greatest glory as a coach came during the early 1970s as he coached the Dolphins through sixty-two consecutive games without a single back-to-back loss, earning a record of 53-9 for the period.

Dolphins Win 1974 AFC Eastern Title

The Dolphins enjoyed another winning season in 1974, winning the American Football Conference's (AFC) Eastern Division title with a record of 11-3. However, the Dolphins were eliminated from the playoffs after being narrowly defeated, 28-26, by the Oakland Raiders. Miami ended 1975 with a 10-4 record in the regular season but were edged out of the AFC Eastern title by the Baltimore Colts. The following year was not a good one for Shula and the Dolphins, which suffered their first losing season (6-8) since Shula's arrival. Miami bounced back in 1977 to finish the regular season with a record of 10-4, finishing second in the AFC Eastern Division.

In 1978 Shula coached the Dolphins to a winning record of 11-5. Miami made it into the AFC wildcard game in the playoffs, where the team lost 17-9 to the Houston Oilers. The Dolphins' 10-6 record in 1979 won the AFC Eastern Division title, but Miami fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 34-14, in the divisional playoffs. The following year the Dolphins broke even with a record of 8-8, placing third in the AFC Eastern Division. Things looked up in 1981 when the Dolphins again took the AFC Eastern title with a record of 11-4-1. In the divisional playoffs, Miami was narrowly defeated, 41-38, by the San Diego Chargers in overtime. In the strike-shortened 1982 season, the Dolphins captured the AFC Eastern title with a record of 7-2. Miami went on to win the AFC championship with a 14-0 defeat of the New York Jets. In the Super Bowl, the Dolphins were over-powered, 27-17, by the Redskins.

Dolphins Return to Super Bowl in 1984

Shula's Dolphins capped off the 1984 season with a return visit to the Super Bowl, where they lost, 38-16, to the San Francisco 49ers. For the next eleven seasons, under Shula's direction, the Dolphins enjoyed breakeven or winning seasons every year except 1988 when they finished with a record of 6-10. Finally in 1996, Shula at the age of sixty-six retired from professional football, leaving behind the winningest record in NFL coaching history. Only two years later, in his first year of eligibility, Shula was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. At the induction ceremonies, Shula was formally presented by sons David and Michael, both of whom have spent time as coaches in the NFL.

Shula's first wife, Dorothy, died of cancer in 1990, and in 1993, he married Mary Anne Stephens. The two live in the Miami area, where Shula concentrates most of his time today on running Shula Enterprises, a holding company for his restaurant chain. Looking back on his pro coaching career, Shula told the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies: "It's a wonderful tribute to be here, and I'm very proud of it. There have been so many memories, so many wonderful people I've been privileged to work with. I'm grateful I've had the opportunity to achieve the things I set out to do."

CONTACT INFORMATION

Address: Don Shula, c/o Shula Enterprises Inc., 16 Indian Creek Island, Miami Beach, FL 33154-2904. Online: http://www.donshula.com.

Awards and Accomplishments

Related Biography: Football Coach David Shula

David Shula has followed in his father's footsteps, spending a decade and a half coaching in the National Football League before joining his father in overseeing the day-to-day operations of the family-owned restaurant chain.

He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on May 28, 1959, the first child of Shula and his first wife, Dorothy, who died of cancer in 1990. After earning his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College in 1981, he spent a year playing for the Baltimore Colts. After his year with the Colts, he turned to coaching, joining the staff of the Miami Dolphins as assistant coach from 1982 until 1989. From Miami, Shula moved to Dallas, where he served as the Cowboys' assistant coach from 1989 until 1991. He was named assistant coach of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1991 and soon thereafter was promoted to head coach, a post he retained until 1996. That year, he left coaching and returned to Miami to serve as president of Shula Enterprises, holding company for the family's chain of steak restaurants. He and wife Leslie Ann have three children, Dan, Chris, and Matt.

SELECTED WRITINGS BY SHULA:

(With Lou Sahadi) The Winning Edge, Dutton, 1973.

(With Ken Blanchard) Everyone's a Coach, Harper Business, 1995.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Books

"Don Shula." Newsmakers 1992, Issue Cumulation. Detroit: Gale Group, 1992.

"Don Shula." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, five volumes. Detroit: St. James Press, 2000.

Periodicals

Glauber, Bob. "NFL/Hall of Fame Inductions/Shula's Finally at Home." Newsday (July 27, 1997): B16.

McFarland, Sabrina. "Passages." People (November 1, 1993): 97.

Other

"Don Shula: Biography." Pro Football Hall of Fame. http://www.profootballhof.com/players/enshrinees/dshula.cfm (December 30, 2002).

"Don Shula's Coaching Record." Miami Dolphins. http://www.uswebpc.com/dolphins/record.html (December 30, 2002).

"Don Shula: Highlights." Pro Football Hall of Fame. http://www.profootballhof.com/players/highlights/dshula.cfm (December 30, 2002).

"The Gridiron: Pro Football-Miami Team Season Records and Coaches." Rauzulu's Street-NFL Team Information. http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/football/profootball/miamiseason.html (December 30, 2002).

"Shula Career Highlights." DonShula.com. http://www.donshula.com/careerhighlights.htm (December 30, 2002).

"Shula History." DonShula.com. http://www.donshula.com/shulahistory.htm (December 30, 2002).

Sketch by Don Amerman