 Shula in 1987 | |||||||
| No. 96, 44, 25, 26 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive back | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | January 4, 1930 Grand River, Ohio, U.S. | ||||||
| Died: | May 4, 2020 (aged 90) Indian Creek, Florida, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Harvey (Painesville, Ohio) | ||||||
| College: | John Carroll | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 1951 / round: 9 / pick: 110 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| As a player: | |||||||
| As a coach: | |||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||
| Regular season: | 328–156–6 (.676) | ||||||
| Postseason: | 19–17 (.528) | ||||||
| Career: | 347–173–6 (.665) | ||||||
| Record at Pro Football Reference | |||||||
Donald Francis Shula (January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional football player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven seasons as a defensive back in the NFL. For most of his career, Shula was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
Shula held his first head coaching position with the Baltimore Colts, whom he coached for seven seasons from 1963 to 1969. With the Colts, he led them to seven consecutive winning seasons, was a three-time AP NFL Coach of the Year (1964, 1967, 1968), and in 1968 led the Colts to a 13–1 record and a win in the 1968 NFL Championship Game over the Cleveland Browns. However, in Super Bowl III and despite being heavy favorites over the 19 1⁄2 point underdog New York Jets, the Colts were defeated in a massive upset by a score of 16–7. After coaching one more season in Baltimore, in 1970 Shula was then hired to be the Miami Dolphins' next head coach, and would remain with the Dolphins for the next 26 seasons. In 26 seasons with the Dolphins, Shula had only two losing seasons (1976, 1988), while leading the Dolphins to 11 division titles, 5 AFC Championships including three in a row (1971–1973, 1982, 1984), and back-to-back Super Bowl Championships in 1972 and 1973 in Super Bowl VII and Super Bowl VIII. His Super Bowl VII victory, capped off the only undefeated perfect season in NFL history when his Dolphins finished the 1972 season with a perfect 17–0 record, and also won Shula his 4th NFL AP Coach of the Year Award.
Shula was the first head coach to appear in six Super Bowls, five with the Dolphins and one with the Colts. His six Super Bowl appearances rank second among head coaches (behind only Bill Belichick) and he has the most Super Bowl losses at four.[a] He was the first head coach to bring two franchises to the Super Bowl and appear in three consecutive Super Bowls, which he accomplished with the Dolphins from 1971 to 1973. Having guided Baltimore to Super Bowl III and Miami to Super Bowl VI, Shula is also the only head coach to lead two NFL franchises to their Super Bowl debut.
Shula retired with an all-time regular and post season overall win-loss record of 347–173–6, which currently ranks him 1st in regular season wins (328) and overall total wins (347), making him the winningest head coach in NFL history in terms of coaching victories. As of 2024, Shula is the only head coach to win the AP NFL Coach of the Year Award four times (1964, 1967-1968, 1972). He was selected as a coach to the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team and enshrined into the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll immediately after his retirement in 1996. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997 in his first year of eligibility, and in 2019 was selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team as one of the 10 greatest head coaches in NFL History. Shula died in 2020 at the age of 90.
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