The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

Sorry guys. RIP Coach.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29132028/dolphins-hall-fame-coach-don-shula-dies-90

It sucks so bad he never got to see them become great again.  I'd have loved for him to hand Flores the Lombardi trophy. Rest in Peace Coach. You set the standard and will never be forgotten.  :'( :'(

Being older than most of you, I was old enough to understand and appreciate the glory years.   Great coach.  Even better human being.  I remember him when he was well into his 40's right there doing the same thing as his players during workouts.   I have been preparing myself for this news for years now.  But it still feels like a punch to the gut and I ain't ashamed to admit I shed a couple sports tears when I saw this news.   I'm glad he didn't live long enough to see that guy in New England break his record for most ever wins.   

+1.  That would have been awesome if that had happened.

The Man. Myth. Legend. RIP Don Shula.

PS. Another weird thing is I'm getting an 8x10 autogrphed photo of Shula arriving today in the mail! I have a Dolphins wall in my bar area and I was putting 2 framed auto photos of Marino and him side by side.  Wow.

I just logged in to show my respects.  Good man gave us a lot of good years.  I hope his family finds peace.

Rest in Peace, coach.  Sad, sad day.

Sad day for Dolphins fans.......R.I.P Coach!!!!!  :'(

RIP

Lots of former players saying similar things today, but Larry Little did a nice job of "humanizing" The Coach with these words today.
"It’s a very sad day to lose an icon like that,” said Dolphins Hall of Famer Larry Little. "He was not only a great coach, but also a great person who had a huge impact on my career. I became a good player because of him, and I’ll always be grateful for that. In fact, I have so much respect for him I asked him to be my introducer when I was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Coach Shula was a man of character, honesty and integrity.”

Sports accomplishments aside, there is a lot to be said for being known as "a man of character, honesty, and integrity".

I hung out with a guy named Bob Petrella a few times.  He told me he was a backup DB for the Dolphins in Shula's first years as coach.   He said Shula was the kind of guy who could motivate you to go through a wall.   During training camp, in that hot Miami sun, Shula would wear a straw hat with a brim and he'd have a couple bus tickets tucked into it.  If he thought a player was dogging it, he'd get in the guy's face and let him know what was in store for him if he didn't shape up and then point to those bus tickets.  It happened to Petrella only one time.  

 :'(

Prayers to his wife, kids and grandkids.  Best Coach Ever!

Sad to hear of Shula's passing, but it sounds like he lived a rich and fulfilling life.  This is one of the situations where it feels like a life should be more celebrated than mourned.

Best wishes to the Shula family.

Damn, 2020 just gets worse and worse...  :(

Prayers and condolences to his wife, family and friends.

His place in the NFL is a certified legend, if not the greatest coach of all time, right up there in the discussion. His longevity and versatility stand out as well as the pure numbers - he won with different teams, different eras, different personnel, in all that time only the two losing seasons. From having a stud QB Johnny U at Baltimore, to the ball control ground and pound of Butch & Sundance at the Fins - then when the sky opened up after rule changes (more on that later) turning up the passing game with Griese... after his career ending shoulder injury, then back to the ball control and rushing to suit a scrambling QB, until a guy called Marino came along...

He drove for success, was unbearable when he lost, hard but fair - he would not ask of a player something he would not do or had not done himself. It's telling that his teams were consistently the least penalized in the NFL, and that you hardly heard a bad word said about him, from his players to his fiercest rivals. Classy.

Despite achieving his greatest success in the era of three years and a cloud of dust, he always strove to make the game better. As part of the rules committee (co-chair for a chunk of it) he oversaw rules that first opened up the passing game in the late 70s, outlawing the head slap, the Mel Blount rule to protect the receivers, and further positive changes in the years that followed. His involvement saw significant step away from the absolutely brutal era of NFL to the more entertaining spectacle we enjoy today, and that's just as important as his contributions to the Dolphins and the Colts.

His legacy is enormous, and while we knew this day was probably coming sooner than later it doesn't make it any easier to take. RIP Coach Shula.

It's very cool how far his legacy reached. Teams like the Falcons have gone so far as to light up the outside of their stadium teal and orange in his honor.

(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXODp2dWAAAb_tn?format=jpg&name=900x900)

A lot of great tributes here

https://twitter.com/MiamiDolphins

https://www.miamidolphins.com/news/don-shula-sports-world-pays-tribute-on-twitter

Thanks for sharing that picture.  It says a lot when even other teams are paying their respects. 

here's great story by the Dolphins former PR guy for the team, Chip Namias

Good write, especially the amusing the story at the end.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/20200505/remembering-don-shula-as-young-head-of-public-relations-for-miami-dolphins (https://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports/20200505/remembering-don-shula-as-young-head-of-public-relations-for-miami-dolphins)