Shula Set To Resign As Coach Nfl’s Winningest Coach Will Step Down After 33-Year Career

Don Shula confirmed Thursday night that has decided to step down as the coach of the Dolphins after spending exactly half his life becoming the winningest coach in the history of the NFL.

“After some long and difficult thinking, I’ve decided that I will not be involved as the coach of the Dolphins next season,” said Shula, who will hold a news conference today at 4 p.m. ET.

Shula, who turned 66 the day the news broke and spent 33 years as an NFL head coach, indicated that he would remain with the organization, but didn’t define what his new responsibilities would be.

“It has been a different birthday,” said Shula, who played golf and attended a party in his honor Thursday night. “I’ll be talking more at the press conference about what my new responsibilities within the organization will be.”

Shula met with Dolphins owner H. Wayne Huizenga on Wednesday evening for 2-1/2 hours to discuss the situation after Shula endured perhaps the most tumultuous season in team history.

“This was his life, but if he pulls the curtain tomorrow, as it appears he will, I just don’t think he’ll give it another thought. Unless something very, very unusual comes up,” said former Dallas Cowboys executive Tex Schramm, who has been friends with Shula since 1968.

Speculation now turns to Shula’s successor, although it is almost a foregone conclusion that former Dallas and University of Miami coach Jimmy Johnson will take over. Johnson led the Cowboys to back-to-back Super Bowl titles in 1992 and 1993 and led Miami to a title in 1987.

“I have no comment,” Johnson said. “I’ve had no contact (with Huizenga) and I have no comment.”

As for Shula, it was a slow and precipitous drop for the only coach in league history to lead a team through an undefeated season and the first to lead a team to three consecutive Super Bowls. He has compiled a record of 347-173-6 and broke former Chicago Bears coach George Halas’ record for victories in 1993. He led teams to six Super Bowl appearances, including one with the Baltimore Colts in 1968.

He also was praised widely for adapting to different styles. He led the Dolphins to Super Bowl titles in the 1970s with a running game led by Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris and Jim Kiick. Beginning in 1983, he and quarterback Dan Marino teammed to create one of the most productive passing attacks in NFL history, Marino breaking all of the major passing records this season.

But since winning the second of back-to-back titles in 1973, Shula has gone 22 years without winning a championship. That skein ties him for the longest drought in NFL history with Chuck Knox. It is also the second-longest drought in professional football, baseball, basketball or hockey, behind only former baseball manager Gene Mauch.

“I’m shocked, I really am,” said former Dolphins offensive line coach John Sandusky, who has known Shula since the 1950s. As recently as Saturday, following the Dolphins 37-22 loss to Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs, Shula had said that he would return.

That changed after the meeting with Huizenga. There are various accounts of what happened, ranging from one report that Huizenga demanded that Shula fire his entire staff to simply that Huizenga did not give Shula the vote of confidence the coach sought.

There were more than 13,000 votes in polls by the Sun-Sentinel, Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post. More than 10,000 of the votes cast were to have Shula leave or be fired after this season.

That was one of many criticisms or problems that Shula had to deal with as a season with so much promise came apart. The Dolphins favored by many individuals to reach the Super Bowl, compiling a team that featured 19 first-round draft picks. The Dolphins spent $18 million on restricted and unrestricted free agents and restructured contracts to construct the team.

News of Shula’s retirement broke quickly across the country.

“I’ve already gotten calls from five people,” said Cincinnati coach David Shula, Shula’s eldest son. “All I know is that I’m snowbound here in Cincinnati. I don’t know anything else.”