Miami Dolphins Tales From The Deep

When your last name is Shula, football will flow through your veins, and that was certainly the case for Dave Shula. The eldest son of Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and Miami Dolphins icon, Don Shula, Dave would play wide receiver at Dartmouth College, before one year returning kicks with the Baltimore Colts and eight seasons on his father’s Miami Dolphins’ coaching staff. Dave would ultimately follow in his father’s footsteps, becoming an NFL head coach himself, leading the Cincinnati Bengals from 1992-1996.

In The Tank, Dave recalls what it was like to grow up as a Shula (2:28) and to be the envy of his peers as a ball boy for 1972 Undefeated Miami Dolphins (4:54), but also explains why his father blamed him for Garo Yepremian’s ill-fated pass attempt in Super Bowl VII (8:23). He discusses the challenges and benefits of embracing being the son of a legend (9:57), shares the events that led him to join the Dolphins coaching staff in 1982 and ultimately becoming the position coach for Mark Clayton and Mark Duper (12:24). Dave goes on to provide emotional perspective on his Shula Bowl match-ups against his father (20:50), beams with tremendous pride in seeing his son, Chris, become a Super Bowl champion with the LA Rams (27:26), and navigates the Fish Tank Two-Minute Drill with excellence (31:20). 

Contributors to this episode include Sean “DJ Prec” Todd and Scott Stone.

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