Don Shula
Don Shula
Donald Francis Shulais a former professional American football coach and player who is best known as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the only perfect season in the history of the National Football League. He was previously the head coach of the Baltimore Colts, with whom he won the 1968 NFL Championship. Shula was drafted out of John Carroll University in the 1951 NFL Draft, and he played...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth4 January 1930
CityGrand River, OH
CountryUnited States of America
The '85 Bears were a great football team and aside from that one game, they played exceptionally well all year, ... Denver at 13-0 was tremendously strong in all areas, too.
And then to end up with a total of 347 wins, averaging 10 regular season wins for 33 years and the best winning percentage, and I'm very proud of this, of any professional team from 1970 to 1996.
Because, they're only thinking about one team when that game's over. Before the game, they're talking about two football teams. When the game's over, there's only one winner.
And this year is going to be the 25th anniversary of the 17-0 team, the only undefeated season.
The one man team is a complete and total myth.
I think what coaching is all about, is taking players and analyzing there ability, put them in a position where they can excel within the framework of the team winning. And I hope that I've done that in my 33 years as a head coach.
My responsibility is leadership, and the minute I get negative, that is going to have an influence on my team.
The thing we found out was, when you get to a Super Bowl, both teams are treated the same, talked about in glowing terms. But when the game is over, only the team that won matters.
We're depicted as being happy about somebody's misfortune.
We had him rated right behind (John) Elway and ahead of (Jim) Kelly, ... But we never dreamed we'd have a shot at Dan.
When you're 0-2 in the Super Bowl, they say unkind things about you. They say, 'He can't win the big one.' And that's the worst thing that can be said about you.
I can't control the criticism. It's something you certainly don't appreciate, but by the same token, everybody is entitled to their opinion.
You take on what's right in front of you. You want to do the best you can with the opportunities that you have.
Losing a Super Bowl destroys all the good things that happened to get you there.