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Author Topic: Could George Wilson have been successful?  (Read 783 times)
ArtieChokePhin
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« on: February 19, 2021, 10:30:52 pm »

Seeing the passing of Don Shula made me think of something. I know George Wilson had some success in the old NFL and though his overall record with the Dolphins was not very good, I have to wonder if he would've led the team to a Super Bowl had Shula not come to Miami.

His teams improved their first three years and the record his final year was marred by injuries to key players. Also I give him credit for bringing in a lot of the guys who were starters on that perfect 1972 team. Bob Griese, Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, Mercury Morris, Howard Twilley, Larry Little, Larry Seiple, Dick Anderson, Nick Buoniconti, Manny Fernandez, and Bill Stanfill were all acquired by him.
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Downunder Dolphan
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« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2021, 03:19:50 am »

In a word, no.

Shula changed the whole culture at Miami, his training methods were considered excessive and would probably now be banned, but it molded a team that would not accept defeat... or it would not accept his foul mood when they lost a game. Players who played under both coaches like Bob Kuechenberg & Larry Csonka are on the record as saying there was a polar shift when Shula arrived. There's a huge reason he had only two losing seasons in his lengthy career.

Players hated what he brought in to start with but always respected him, until they started winning as a habit, and then loved him for it. I think that's a key difference between Shula and someone like Parcells who has notable ex-players (eg. Phil Simms) who still hate his guts today. Compare that to ex-Baltimore players who always regretted that Shula left for Miami (even after they won a Superbowl the following year under a rookie coach).
« Last Edit: February 20, 2021, 11:09:00 pm by Downunder Dolphan » Logged
Dolphster
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« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2021, 01:19:29 pm »

In a word, no.

Shula changed the whole culture at Miami, his training methods were considered excessive and would probably now be banned, but it molded a team that would not accept defeat... or it would not accept his foul mood when they lost a game. Players who played under both coaches like Bob Kuechenberg & Larry Csonka are on the record as saying there was a polar shift when Shula arrived. There's a huge reason he had only two losing seasons in his lengthy career.

Players hated what he brought in to start with but always respected him, until they started winning as a habit, and then loved him for it. I think that's a key difference between Shula and someone like Parcells who has notable ex-players (eg. Phil Simms) who still hate his guts today. Compare that to ex-Baltimore players who always regretted that Shula left for Miami (even after they won a Superbowl the following year under a rookie coach).


Agreed.  I was just talking to someone yesterday about this very thing.  Wilson was by all accounts a very nice guy to a fault and was known for being a beer buddy with some of the players, etc.  All that is well and good but it doesn't lend itself to the type of discipline required (especially back then) to be successful.  Shula was definitely disliked by the majority of players at the time because he was a hardass.  But the fact that he was so beloved by those same players for 50 years afterwards shows that they respected and ultimately understood that the same drill instructor approach he took to the team was also a big part of what made them champions.  Many of them are on record as saying that. 
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ArtieChokePhin
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« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2021, 11:47:47 pm »

Agreed.  I was just talking to someone yesterday about this very thing.  Wilson was by all accounts a very nice guy to a fault and was known for being a beer buddy with some of the players, etc. 

I remember John Stofa once saying something like that.  How Wilson would play favorites with certain players and let them get away with little things like missing curfew.  Stofa was one of the players who was a favorite of Wilson.  He said that Wilson would say to the team after practice that curfew was at 11 pm, then would look at Stofa and his roomate and wink.  That meant he wasn't going to check their beds.
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