Editing Don Shula (section)

{{Short description|American football player and coach (1930–2020)}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| image          = Don Shula at Giants Stadium.jpg
| alt            =
| caption        = Shula in 1987
| number         = 96, 44, 25, 26
| position       = [[Defensive back]]
| birth_date     = {{Birth date|1930|1|4|mf=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Grand River, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date     = {{Death date and age|2020|05|04|1930|1|4|mf=y}}
| death_place    = [[Indian Creek, Florida]], U.S.
| height_ft      = 5
| height_in      = 11
| weight_lbs     = 190
| high_school    = [[Thomas W. Harvey High School|Harvey]] ([[Painesville, Ohio]])
| college        = [[John Carroll Blue Streaks football|John Carroll]]
| draftyear      = 1951
| draftround     = 9
| draftpick      = 110
| pastteams      =
* [[Cleveland Browns]] ({{NFL Year|1951}}–{{NFL Year|1952}})
* [[Baltimore Colts]] ({{NFL Year|1953}}–{{NFL Year|1956}})
* [[Washington Commanders|Washington Redskins]] ({{NFL Year|1957}})
| pastcoaching   =
* [[Virginia Cavaliers football|Virginia]] (1958) <br > Defensive backs coach
* [[Kentucky Wildcats football|Kentucky]] (1959) <br > Defensive backs coach
* [[Detroit Lions]] ({{NFL Year|1960}}) <br> Defensive backs coach
* Detroit Lions ({{NFL Year|1961}}–{{NFL Year|1962}}) <br> Defensive coordinator
* [[Baltimore Colts]] ({{NFL Year|1963}}–{{NFL Year|1969}}) <br> Head coach
* [[Miami Dolphins]] ({{NFL Year|1970}}–{{NFL Year|1995}}) <br> Head coach
| highlights     =
* [[NFL champion]] ([[1968 NFL Championship Game|1968]])
* 2× [[List of Super Bowl champions|Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl VII|VII]], [[Super Bowl VIII|VIII]])
* 4× [[AP NFL Coach of the Year]] (1964, 1967, 1968, 1972)
* [[Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year|''Sports Illustrated'' Sportsman of the Year]] (1993)
* [[Kansas City Committee of 101 awards#Lamar Hunt Award|Lamar Hunt Award]] (2013)
* [[NFL 1970s All-Decade Team]]
* [[National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team|NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team]]
* [[Miami Dolphins Honor Roll]]
* [[Miami Dolphins#The Miami Dolphins 50 Greatest Players|Dolphins Walk of Fame]]
;NFL records
* Most regular season wins as a head coach (328)
* Most total wins as a head coach (347)
* Coached [[1972 Miami Dolphins season|only undefeated season through regular season and playoffs]]
| statleague     = NFL
| statlabel1     = Games played
| statvalue1     = 73
| statlabel2     = Interceptions
| statvalue2     = 21
| regular_record = {{Winning percentage|328|156|6|record=y}}
| playoff_record = {{Winning percentage|19|17|record=y}}
| overall_record = {{Winning percentage|347|173|6|record=y}}
| pfr            = ShulDo20
| pfrcoach       = ShulDo0
| pfrexec        = ShulDo0
| HOF            = don-shula 
}}

'''Donald Francis Shula''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʃ|uː|l|ə}} {{respell|SHOO|lə}}; January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player, coach and executive who served as a head coach in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. He played seven seasons as a [[defensive back]] in the NFL. For most of his career, Shula was the head coach of the [[Miami Dolphins]].

Shula held his first head coaching position with the [[History of the Baltimore Colts|Baltimore Colts]], whom he coached for seven seasons from 1963 to 1969. With the Colts, he led them to seven consecutive winning seasons, was a three-time [[AP NFL Coach of the Year]] (1964, 1967, 1968), and in 1968 led the Colts to a 13–1 record and a win in the 1968 NFL Championship Game over the [[Cleveland Browns]]. However, in [[Super Bowl III]] and despite being heavy favorites over the 19 1⁄2 point underdog [[New York Jets]], the Colts were defeated in a massive upset by a score of 16–7. After coaching one more season in Baltimore, in 1970 Shula was then hired to be the Miami Dolphins' next head coach, and would remain with the Dolphins for the next 26 seasons. In 26 seasons with the Dolphins, Shula had only two losing seasons (1976, 1988), while leading the Dolphins to 11 division titles, 5 AFC Championships including three in a row (1971–1973, 1982, 1984), and back-to-back Super Bowl Championships in 1972 and 1973 in [[Super Bowl VII]] and [[Super Bowl VIII]]. His Super Bowl VII victory, capped off the only undefeated [[perfect season]] in NFL history when his Dolphins finished the 1972 season with a perfect 17–0 record, and also won Shula his 4th NFL AP Coach of the Year Award.

Shula was the first head coach to appear in six [[Super Bowl]]s, five with the Dolphins and one with the Colts. His six Super Bowl appearances rank second among head coaches (tied currently with [[Andy Reid]], and behind only [[Bill Belichick]]) and he has the most Super Bowl losses at four, tied with [[Bud Grant]], [[Marv Levy]], and [[Dan Reeves]], although Grant, Levy, and Reeves all went winless in the Super Bowl. He was the first head coach to bring two franchises to the Super Bowl and appear in three consecutive Super Bowls, which he accomplished with the Dolphins from 1971 to 1973. Having guided Baltimore to [[Super Bowl III]] and Miami to [[Super Bowl VI]], Shula is also the only head coach to lead two NFL franchises to their Super Bowl debut.

Shula retired with an all-time regular and post season overall win-loss record of 347–173–6, which currently ranks him 1st in regular season wins (328) and overall total wins (347), making him the [[List of National Football League head coach wins leaders|winningest head coach in NFL history]] in terms of coaching victories. As of 2024, Shula is the only head coach to win the AP NFL Coach of the Year Award four times (1964, 1967-1968, 1972). He was selected as a coach to the [[NFL 1970s All-Decade Team]] and enshrined into the [[Miami Dolphins Honor Roll]] immediately after his retirement in 1996. He was inducted into the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]] in 1997 in his first year of eligibility, and in 2019 was selected to the [[National Football League 100th Anniversary All-Time Team|NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team]] as one of the 10 greatest head coaches in NFL History. Shula died in 2020 at the age of 90.