Goodbye, Kingfish

Sporting News, The, Jan 15, 1996 by Paul Attner, Steve Gietschier

"I'm going to do my best to be happy," Shula says. He deserves that much.

RELATED ARTICLE: 33 years, 10 highlights

In Don Shula's list of his top 10 career highlights, two suprisingly are defeats -- the loss to Oakland in the 1974 playoffs that ended the Dolphins' championship reign and the classic overtime loss to San Diego in the 1981 playoffs. Here are the top 10 and his comment on each:

1. Super Bowl VII: Miami 14, Washington 7. "That win capped our perfect 17-0 season, an accomplishment that had never been achieved before and hasn't been duplicated since."

2. Super Bowl VIII: Miami 24, Minnesota 7. "Not only was it our second consecutive world championship, but it was the climax of what might have been the best two years that any team in the NFL ever put together. We won back-to-back Super Bowls and went 32-3, a two-year record that hasn't been broker yet."

3. 1971 AFC playoff game on Christmas: Miami 27, Kansas City 24, two overtimes, longest game in NFL history. "That might have been the most exciting game I ever was a part of, either as a player or a coach, and it certainly was the longest."

4. Miami 38, Chicago 24, December 2, 1985. "It was a Monday night game, and with the Bears having an undefeated season to that point, there was a feeling of electricity in the Orange Bowl. By beating the Bears, we were able to keep our legacy of the perfect season intact."

5. 325th victory: Miami 19, Philadelphia 14, November 14, 1993. "It was an honor to become the NFL's winningest coach. Certainly no one would have guessed it would be Doug Pederson who quarterbacked the record-setting win."

6. Baltimore 20, L.A. Rams 17, December 18, 1965. "We needed to win our last regular-season game to get into a playoff for the Western Conference title and, because our two quarterbacks were hurt, we had to use a backup running back, Tom Matte, at quarterback. Nobody gave us a chance to win the game, but Matte, with our plays written on his wristband, was able to get the job done and lead us into the playoffs."

7. 1974 AFC playoff game: Oakland 28, Miami 26. "This was one of the most disappointing losses I've had as a coach. Ken Stabler threw a touchdown pass (to Clarence Davis) with less than a minute remaining in the game, and that prevented us from having a chance to win three consecutive world championships."

8. Hall of Fame presentation: August 8, 1987. "It was a special thrill for me to present Jim Langer and Larry Csonka for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the same day. And I was just as proud three years later when I presented Bob Griese."

9. First game against son Dave Shula: Miami 23, Cincinnati 7, October 2, 1994. "I was very proud when I looked across the field right before the start of the game and saw David getting his own team ready to play. But once it started, we both concentrated on winning the game."

10. 1981 AFC playoff game: San Diego 41, Miami 38 (overtime). "This was a great game, and both teams played outstanding football."