DON SHULA DISCUSSES 1972 MIAMI DOLPHINS’ "PERFECT SEASON"

In a national media conference call on Thursday, November 13, former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula answered questions regarding his 1972 team which remains the only undefeated, untied (17-0) championship team (Super Bowl VII) in NFL history. Shula and the team will be honored in their 25th anniversary year next Monday night in halftime ceremonies when the Dolphins host the Buffalo Bills.

Don, are you ready for the ceremonies?

I’m really looking forward to Monday night because we are really going to be able to spend some time together and rehash some of those great wins in that season. I believe we are going to have 53 out of the 55 players coming back for the Monday-night reunion. I am just anxious to see the players and coaches from that team.

What was unique about the 1972 Dolphins?

It was just a team that really had everything going for it. We didn’t give up any big plays on defense. On offense, we had a great running game which enabled us to hang on to the ball. Our time of possession was just excellent. We didn’t make mistakes offensively. We had an excellent field-goal kicker in Garo Yepremian. Defensively, we had three shutouts that year. We had two 1,000 yards rushers in Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris. Earl Morrall came on, after Bob Griese went down with an injury in the fifth game of the year, and did a great job for us until I started Griese in the Super Bowl.

Are you most proud of the 1972 season?

Yes. As a coach of a team, that had to be my proudest moment because for me personally it was my first Super Bowl win after being 0-2 in Super Bowls and I was not very proud of that. And finally winning my first Super Bowl and having it come when the team accomplished so much doing something that nobody else had ever done makes it that much more memorable.

Was there a point in that season where you started to think about a perfect season?

When we got to 12-0, 13-0 and 14-0, certainly the possibility of a perfect season existed but when we got to 14-0, the next game was a playoff game and the next game was a playoff game. The reality of it was, we’re siting there 16-0 waiting for the Super Bowl. I had this feeling inside of me that if we did not win, it would be a disaster. Most coaches would be happy to be 16-1, but I thought we needed to be 17-0.

Was the 1972 team the best ever in the NFL?

The reason you keep score is to see who wins the game and the reason you keep records is to see what teams are the best. How else do you go if you don’t go by records? That’s how you find out who wins a game. The team with the most points wins. At the end of the year, the team with the best record is the best team.

If a team were to start 10-0 today, what do you think the pressure would be like? Would it be much more difficult then it was on your team?

I think so, because the media coverage is so much more intense. The 1985 Chicago Bears were a great football team and came into the Orange Bowl 12-0 and we were the only team that ended up beating them that year. But you could tell at that time how the pressure was building on them. I think in this day and age, when a team realizes they have the opportunity to do something that only one other team has ever done, that pressure is going to build.