KB21
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I bought a book today titled Coaching Matters: Leadership and Tactics of the NFL's Ten Greatest Coaches by Brad Adler. Of course, Don Shula is in this book.
This is a segment from the section on Shula:
In 1970-the year the NFL and AFL merged-a dispute between Shula and Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom over how the team should be operated reached its boiling point, and Shula looked for a way out with one of the NFL's new members. He decided to move to the NFL's new conference (the AFC) and became the head coach of the Miami franchise. Since Shula was still under contract to the Colts, Baltimore received Miami's number-one selection in the 1971 draft in exchange for allowing Shula to break his agreement with the team. Many observers at the time believed it was a steep price to pay-just for a coach. The draft pick turned out to be a running back from Nort Carolina by the name of Don McCauley. McCauley played eleven full seasons for Baltimore but never developed into the player the Colts had in mind when they drafted him. Had McCauley been a Hall of Famer, this would still have to rank as one of the most lopsided trades in the history of the league. No knock against McCauley, but in hindsight, even he would likely have made that deal-twice!
Don Shula had to be crazy. No mentally stable individual would give up the legendary Baltimore Colts for the lowly Miami Dolphins. Would they?
The Miami franchise that began as part of the American Football League's expansion in 1966 was as dismal an entity as one could imagine. In four seasons, the Dolphins had won fifteen games. Unfortunately, the schedule makers forced them to play forty-one other games as well. Their record was 15-39-2, for a "winning" percentage of .286. To make things worse, Miami would be without their first-round pick in the 1970 draft, which they had traded away to Cleveland. And, let's not forget, the Dolphins had already lost the rights to their first-round pick in 1971 in exchange for that "lunatic" Don Shula.
Can anyone imagine a less enviable situation in which to cast your coaching lot?
Shula and the Dolphins did exactly what was expected of a bunch of misfit, outcast, unprofessional "halloweeners" (people dressed up like football players) -- they went 10-4 and went to the playoffs before losing to the Oakland Raiders 21-14. Shula dismissed almost half the team upon his arrival in Miami. The Dolphins' roster in 1970 included twenty-one new players of the forty-seven listed that season -- a whopping 45 percent. Shula cleared the deadwood and brought in his players, players with a new attitude and a fresh outlook, players with whom he believed he could win. And that's exactly what the Dolphins did -- for the next twenty-six years. Under the lunatic Shula, they had only two losing seasons in the next quarter of a century. Did someone say genius?
Looking back on things, do you know one thing that really shows how great of a coach Don Shula was? The fact that he couldn't draft worth a crap. 55% of his first round picks turned out to be busts. He took a lot of guys that no other team wanted, and he won with those guys. This book brings up the fact that Don could get the most out of limited players, and it uses Mark Higgs and Bernie Parmalee as the examples.
This is a segment from the section on Shula:
In 1970-the year the NFL and AFL merged-a dispute between Shula and Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom over how the team should be operated reached its boiling point, and Shula looked for a way out with one of the NFL's new members. He decided to move to the NFL's new conference (the AFC) and became the head coach of the Miami franchise. Since Shula was still under contract to the Colts, Baltimore received Miami's number-one selection in the 1971 draft in exchange for allowing Shula to break his agreement with the team. Many observers at the time believed it was a steep price to pay-just for a coach. The draft pick turned out to be a running back from Nort Carolina by the name of Don McCauley. McCauley played eleven full seasons for Baltimore but never developed into the player the Colts had in mind when they drafted him. Had McCauley been a Hall of Famer, this would still have to rank as one of the most lopsided trades in the history of the league. No knock against McCauley, but in hindsight, even he would likely have made that deal-twice!
Don Shula had to be crazy. No mentally stable individual would give up the legendary Baltimore Colts for the lowly Miami Dolphins. Would they?
The Miami franchise that began as part of the American Football League's expansion in 1966 was as dismal an entity as one could imagine. In four seasons, the Dolphins had won fifteen games. Unfortunately, the schedule makers forced them to play forty-one other games as well. Their record was 15-39-2, for a "winning" percentage of .286. To make things worse, Miami would be without their first-round pick in the 1970 draft, which they had traded away to Cleveland. And, let's not forget, the Dolphins had already lost the rights to their first-round pick in 1971 in exchange for that "lunatic" Don Shula.
Can anyone imagine a less enviable situation in which to cast your coaching lot?
Shula and the Dolphins did exactly what was expected of a bunch of misfit, outcast, unprofessional "halloweeners" (people dressed up like football players) -- they went 10-4 and went to the playoffs before losing to the Oakland Raiders 21-14. Shula dismissed almost half the team upon his arrival in Miami. The Dolphins' roster in 1970 included twenty-one new players of the forty-seven listed that season -- a whopping 45 percent. Shula cleared the deadwood and brought in his players, players with a new attitude and a fresh outlook, players with whom he believed he could win. And that's exactly what the Dolphins did -- for the next twenty-six years. Under the lunatic Shula, they had only two losing seasons in the next quarter of a century. Did someone say genius?
Looking back on things, do you know one thing that really shows how great of a coach Don Shula was? The fact that he couldn't draft worth a crap. 55% of his first round picks turned out to be busts. He took a lot of guys that no other team wanted, and he won with those guys. This book brings up the fact that Don could get the most out of limited players, and it uses Mark Higgs and Bernie Parmalee as the examples.
None were Dolphin Fans in those days, but they always watched when the Fins were on because I would throw a fit :cry: if they didn't. Don Shula will always be a Hero of sorts to me, because he could get the most out of anyone he coached. He still remains very highly respected in the NFL, and deservedly so. Great read, and thanks for reminding me of why I'm really here with Dolphins Fans!
