Don Shula in Today's NFL?

[tay0365]

Depends on which Shula your talking about. The young hungry Shula, or the old content Shula.

Even the so called old content Shula seemed to always be a Chess Grand master thinking many plays ahead, problem was he also allowed a DC that was useless to the type of team Shula wanted on the field....I guess after think about it, you are probably right, the old Shula would not have allowed his team's defense to fail as much as Olivadotti's did for that long.

 

[So Be]

I have to wonder if today's fans would have been kinder to the "Living Legend" for failed drafts, FA signings, and not being able to surround "Dan The Man" with the talent to get back to the Super Bowl.

 

[nyjunc]

I have to wonder if today's fans would have been kinder to the "Living Legend" for failed drafts, FA signings, and not being able to surround "Dan The Man" with the talent to get back to the Super Bowl.

not a chance, we get too much info as fans and we all think we know a lot more than we actually do. would that affect him? I don't know, it doesn't affect BB who had similar early success in NE like Shula in Miami but hasn't been able to win it all in a long time(for them).

 

[DolfanDuBbZ~]

not a chance, we get too much info as fans and we all think we know a lot more than we actually do. would that affect him? I don't know, it doesn't affect BB who had similar early success in NE like Shula in Miami but hasn't been able to win it all in a long time(for them).

Difference is BB has won something recently. Like in recent memory. People still hang on to wins in the 70s, and forget his failures in the 90s. Shula failed on a epic scale by never finding a running game for Marino or developing a future QB for post Marino. Shula did alot, but once the 90s hit...it was a eventual slow death and left people grasping for the glory days of the early 80s.

 

[nyjunc]

Difference is BB has won something recently. Like in recent memory. People still hang on to wins in the 70s, and forget his failures in the 90s. Shula failed on a epic scale by never finding a running game for Marino or developing a future QB for post Marino. Shula did alot, but once the 90s hit...it was a eventual slow death and left people grasping for the glory days of the early 80s.

don won in the 70s, made SBs in the 80s and still made the playoffs in the 90s. BB won in the 00s, made SBs in the late 00s/early '10s and we'll see where it goes from here. 1972 & 1973 are a long way from 2014 but if he won them 10 years ago it's not that long. if his career was the Marino years and you never won a SB then that's different but assuming the first half of his career is the same he'd have a long leash.

 

[DolfanDuBbZ~]

don won in the 70s, made SBs in the 80s and still made the playoffs in the 90s. BB won in the 00s, made SBs in the late 00s/early '10s and we'll see where it goes from here. 1972 & 1973 are a long way from 2014 but if he won them 10 years ago it's not that long. if his career was the Marino years and you never won a SB then that's different but assuming the first half of his career is the same he'd have a long leash.

He did have a long leash. So much so, his failure to get back to a SB after 83/84, he was able to survive despite some epic failures in never being able to get back despite having a ALL TIME great at the helm.

I hold Shula in high regard, but he won nothing during my life time. Just abunch of heartbreak and saying"next year". Shula in the 90s was a disappointment.

 

[Digital]

Not to undermine the phenomenal work that Bill Belichik has done, but as a head coach he built one team around one player ... Tom Brady. We could argue that he built a defense around Lawrence Taylor, but we would also have to concede that Parcells and the GM accruing all that defensive talent was also a significant part of that stew.

Belichik won one year with the journeymen Matt Cassel .. but Shula won with Scott Mitchell, David Woodley and backups like Earl Morrell and Don Stock making all of those QB'S look pretty good.

I believe Belichik is a great coach. But, I think he really proves that when Brady is long gone and he seamlessly builds the tem around someone else ... without having a losing season.

Let's be honest, he already lost enough in Cleveland. I'm curious how many losing seasons he will have if he reaches 33 seasons as a head coach.

What Shula did is unequaled on many levels.

 

[DolfanDuBbZ~]

Not to undermine the phenomenal work that Bill Belichik has done, but as a head coach he built one team around one player ... Tom Brady. We could argue that he built a defense around Lawrence Taylor, but we would also have to concede that Parcells and the GM accruing all that defensive talent was also a significant part of that stew.

Belichik won one year with the journeymen Matt Cassel .. but Shula won with Scott Mitchell, David Woodley and backups like Earl Morrell and Don Stock making all of those QB'S look pretty good.

I believe Belichik is a great coach. But, I think he really proves that when Brady is long gone and he seamlessly builds the tem around someone else ... without having a losing season.

Let's be honest, he already lost enough in Cleveland. I'm curious how many losing seasons he will have if he reaches 33 seasons as a head coach.

What Shula did is unequaled on many levels.

While very true. Shulas failures are also unequaled on many levels. Having a all time great lead your team for many years and coming up short, was sad.

I guess unlike many here, I still hold Shula responsible for his many failures in the 90s. I understand people holding onto things in the 70/80s. But history shouldn't be kind when discussing the 90s.

 

[DolfanDuBbZ~]

My beliefs were cemented once Elway got his because of a dominant run game.

 

[So Be]

My beliefs were cemented once Elway got his because of a dominant run game.

Point well taken but, not sure Dan would have handed off that much with Jim Brown at RB. lol Sammie "Sucks" Smith was a #9 pick in in 89, and think he was worse than Ginn.

 

[DolfanDuBbZ~]

Point well taken but, not sure Dan would have handed off that much with Jim Brown at RB. lol Sammie "Sucks" Smith was a #9 pick in in 89, and think he was worse than Ginn.

To this day, for me, its a bitter pill to swallow.

As my Chief fan friends say...Phin fans who actually seen their team win a SB are dying off or have one foot in the grave.

And their fanbase is even older when discussing SBs.

 

[Digital]

While very true. Shulas failures are also unequaled on many levels. Having a all time great lead your team for many years and coming up short, was sad.

I guess unlike many here, I still hold Shula responsible for his many failures in the 90s. I understand people holding onto things in the 70/80s. But history shouldn't be kind when discussing the 90s.

I think you mischaracterized the 90s by calling them failures. Failure comes with a losing record. We know, because post Shula we have had our share.

Yes we had an all time great in Marino, but this isn't the NBA ... one guy isn't enough. Look at the horrible drafts we had during the 90's. IMHO, the great coach Don Shula made chicken salad out of chicken .... stuff.

Give me an all pro team and give Belichik the Jaguars and I'll probably beat him ... but I'm not a better coach than him.

You said it yourself ... Elway won when he had a running game. Marino retired earlier because of injuries.

Things might have been different if Miami had a good GM like they had in earlier decades ... but even without that vital lifeblood Shula managed to win a lot of games.

 

[DolfanDuBbZ~]

I think you mischaracterized the 90s by calling them failures. Failure comes with a losing record. We know, because post Shula we have had our share.

Yes we had an all time great in Marino, but this isn't the NBA ... one guy isn't enough. Look at the horrible drafts we had during the 90's. IMHO, the great coach Don Shula made chicken salad out of chicken .... stuff.

Give me an all pro team and give Belichik the Jaguars and I'll probably beat him ... but I'm not a better coach than him.

You said it yourself ... Elway won when he had a running game. Marino retired earlier because of injuries.

Things might have been different if Miami had a good GM like they had in earlier decades ... but even without that vital lifeblood Shula managed to win a lot of games.

So his run in the mid 80s of going .500 were acceptable? Or losing to BUF in the 90s?

My point is this... Shula had his run. But it ended sooner than most are willing to admit.

Imo, Shula struggled to keep up with the NFL in the second half of his career or the later third of his career.

Its just some will hold him up to such high praise, without acknowledging his failures during his career. I'm sure he would look back at his time with Marino and think he didn't finish the job. As a fan, I loved the winning when it happened. But Shula had alot of sub par teams despite having a loyal fan base and some great players.

It took a new coach with a new philosophy to get Elway his. Maybe that was missing in the early 90s?

 

[Rick Cartman]

I think you mischaracterized the 90s by calling them failures. Failure comes with a losing record. We know, because post Shula we have had our share.

Yes we had an all time great in Marino, but this isn't the NBA ... one guy isn't enough. Look at the horrible drafts we had during the 90's. IMHO, the great coach Don Shula made chicken salad out of chicken .... stuff.

Give me an all pro team and give Belichik the Jaguars and I'll probably beat him ... but I'm not a better coach than him.

You said it yourself ... Elway won when he had a running game. Marino retired earlier because of injuries.

Things might have been different if Miami had a good GM like they had in earlier decades ... but even without that vital lifeblood Shula managed to win a lot of games.

There are certain degrees of failure. Don Shula unable to win a title with Dan Marino at the helm for over a decade is a failure and a giant one at that in my opinion. He's the only guy in top 5 of passing yards and touchdowns that doesn't have a ring. Sure some of the blame belongs to Marino, but Don Shula was all but guaranteed optimal QB performance for over a decade and got no titles out of it. By common day standards he would of been relieved of his position well before the drought got to a decade.

 

[phintim]

Fans and the Miami media ran Shula out and they got much worse results for their trouble. Shula the coach was fine Shula the GM was lacking that being said if he had Ireland or someone close he may have coached a little longer, thats how bad the GM was back then,