By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
MIAMI -- Don Shula died today at age 90 -- truly an NFL coaching legend, having won an NFL-record 347 games and coaching the Miami Dolphins to the league's only undefeated season (17-0) in 1972, with a 14-7 victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.
The Dolphins repeated as champions in 1973, soundly defeating the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 in Super Bowl VIII, the third straight title game Miami had appeared in. The Dolphins lost to the Dallas Cowboys, 24-3, in Super Bowl VI.
In all, Shula-coached Dolphins squads appeared in five Super Bowls -- the back to-back wins -- offset by the opening title games loss to to Dallas and later to the Redskins, 27-17 in Super Bowl XVII, and to the San Francisco 49ers, 38-16, in Super Bowl XIX.
While Shula relied on future Hall of Fame QBs like Bob Griese in three straight Super Boswl victories and a rocket-armed Dan Marino in the Super Bowl apperance against the 49ers, it was the bravado of an opposing team's quarterback that would get the best of a young Shula before being hired by Miami.
Then the youngest NFL coach when they hired him at age 33, the heavily-favored Shula-led Baltimore Colts, would lose to a brash young QB from the University of Alabama, who predicted his team would win - and win they did 16-7 in Super Bowl III: the New York Jets, the New York Jets, of course with Broadway Joe leading the charge.
Longevity became Shula's hallmark: When he resigned after the 1995 Dolphins season, season, Shula had been an NFL head coach for 33 seasons, 26 with Miami. Only two of his Dolphins teams finished below .500.
Shula finished with an overall coaching record of 347-173-6, inclufding the playoffs, including 73-26-4 earlier with Baltimore.
"Don Shula will always be remembered as one of the greatest coaches and contributors in the history of our game. He made an extraordinarily positive impact on so many lives," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "The winningest coach in NFL history and the only one to lead a team to a perfect season, Coach Shula lived an unparalleled football life. As a player, Hall of Fame coach, and long-time member and co-chair of the NFL Competition Committee, he was a remarkable teacher and mentor who for decades inspired excellence and exemplified integrity."
Both of Shula's sons followed him into the NFL coaching ranks. Mike Shula is the quarterbacks coach for the Denver Broncos and David Shula was the Cincinnati Bengals' head coach from 1992 to 1996. He also played one season with Baltimore (1981).