Legendary Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula passed away Monday at the age of 90. The winningest coach in NFL history, Shula won two Super Bowls with Miami and went a perfect 17-0 in 1972 (14-0 during the regular season, 3-0 during the playoffs).
When asked recently about his legacy, Shula said, “I want them to say he won within the rules. That he had players that took a lot of pride in playing within the rules. I want them to say that we did it all the right way. Always the right way.”
Was that a shot at teams that perhaps broke, or at least bended, the rules? Was that a shot at Bill Belichick?
Perhaps.
“He called Belichick ‘Beli-cheat,’” former Dolphins great Dick Anderson said on The DA Show. “He was straightforward. He was, ‘This is how we gotta do it, these are the rules, and this is what we’re going to follow.’ He didn’t like, I think, people that didn’t follow the rules – and he did.”
Anderson, a third-round pick in 1968, spent his entire 10-year career with the Dolphins. He played the final eight seasons under Shula, for whom he won two Super Bowls and became a member of the NFL’s 1970s All-Decade Team.
“He was a man – we kind of laugh about it – but he’d go to mass every morning on the way to practice, and then he’d yell at us the whole time,” Anderson said, laughing. The two sides of Don Shula.”
While Shula may have been demanding, he occupies a special place in the hearts of his former players.
“Anytime someone passes away, you’re not expecting it,” Anderson said. “Don had been getting better and healthier, and even though he was 90 years old . . . he just was a great individual and a great coach. It’s really a tough time.”