WEBVTT - Remembering Don Shula with Armando Salguero and Andy Cohen 0:00:00.480 --> 0:00:04.960 Coaching at whatever level is and playing at whatever level 0:00:05.240 --> 0:00:09.520 is a is a stressful undertaking. To have that success 0:00:09.520 --> 0:00:13.080 over that amount of time. It's a testament to him 0:00:13.119 --> 0:00:17.560 and it's fortitude. People always love to start and we 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:20.239 always love to finish. We cant ready start school. We 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:23.880 get excited. We don't start school. Were graduated. We're getting excited. 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:27.760 We're gonna graduate. What does that sustainability in the middle 0:00:27.800 --> 0:00:31.639 between starting it and finishing it that most people don't have. 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:38.360 So he is a measure above normal men. I feel 0:00:38.360 --> 0:00:48.080 good later on we're gonna do and what your student? 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:52.279 This is Mr Perfect, the man who presides over the 0:00:52.320 --> 0:00:56.960 only unbeaten team in NFL history. Mr Perfect. Indeed, Don 0:00:57.040 --> 0:01:00.160 Shula has passed away at the age of nine, and 0:01:00.160 --> 0:01:02.800 we are doing things different on this edition of the 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:06.080 Drive Time Podcast and owed to the greatest coach in 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:09.520 National Football League history, the winning is coach in National 0:01:09.520 --> 0:01:13.360 Football League history, the winner of two Super Bowl championships 0:01:13.520 --> 0:01:17.360 with your Miami Dolphins, Don Shula, at the age of ninety, 0:01:17.400 --> 0:01:19.920 has passed away. We're gonna talk to Andy Cohen of 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:23.600 Miami Dolphins dot Com, Armando Salgaro of the Miami Herald, 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:26.399 and give you some details on Don Shula's life, both 0:01:26.440 --> 0:01:29.160 on the football field and off of it. Let's just 0:01:29.200 --> 0:01:32.639 go ahead and start here with his on field football accomplishments. First, 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:35.080 he was a ninth round draft pick back in nineteen 0:01:35.120 --> 0:01:37.640 fifty one. He played with the Browns, the Colts, and 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:41.279 Washington up through the nineteen fifty seven season, then began 0:01:41.400 --> 0:01:44.279 his career as a coach, first with the Detroit Lions 0:01:44.319 --> 0:01:46.959 as the DC there from nineteen sixty to sixty two, 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:49.400 took on the head coaching job with the Baltimore Colts, 0:01:49.440 --> 0:01:52.040 where he won an NFL championship in nineteen sixty eight, 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:54.280 and then, of course we all know by now Miami 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:58.200 Dolphins head coach from nineteen seventy through nineteen the two 0:01:58.200 --> 0:02:00.800 times Super Bowl champion, he was the four time a 0:02:00.960 --> 0:02:04.440 p NFL Coach of the Year, the Sports Illustrated Sportsman 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:07.240 of the Year in ninete. He was on the NFL 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:11.160 one Anniversary All Time Team, the NFL's nineteen seventies All 0:02:11.200 --> 0:02:13.920 Decade Team, and of course your Miami Dolphins on a 0:02:14.000 --> 0:02:17.040 roll and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:19.240 He has the most regular season wins as a head 0:02:19.240 --> 0:02:21.840 coach with three eight, the most total wins as a 0:02:21.840 --> 0:02:24.280 head coach with three forty seven, and of course, was 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:27.280 the only coach to ever go undefeated through an entire 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:31.079 regular season and playoffs. He also coached thirty three seasons 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:34.359 in the NFL and had just two seasons that were 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:37.400 not winning seasons, so thirty one out of thirty three 0:02:37.400 --> 0:02:40.040 times he was a winning coach, part of a winning 0:02:40.040 --> 0:02:42.800 football team. And my goodness, you talked to anybody around 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:46.840 the National Football League, ex players, ex coaches, ex media members, 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:49.680 they all say the same things about Don Hula, both 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.880 on and off the field. The integrity, the intensity, the discipline, 0:02:53.919 --> 0:02:56.280 but also a little bit of a sense of humor. Today, 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:58.919 we're gonna detail two people that know Don Shula very well, 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:02.640 and Andy Cohen and Armando Salgaro of Miami Dolphins dot 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:05.400 com and the Miami Herald. Tomorrow on the podcast, we'll 0:03:05.400 --> 0:03:08.200 get some sound clips from Bob Greasy, from Larry Sunka, 0:03:08.480 --> 0:03:11.519 Mercury Morris, plenty of the alumni that played for coach Shula, 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:14.280 and we'll talk to those guys about their memories of 0:03:14.400 --> 0:03:16.600 coach and the great life that he lived both as 0:03:16.639 --> 0:03:19.600 a football man, a family man, a husband and just 0:03:19.680 --> 0:03:22.120 a good friend, a good person, a guy that did 0:03:22.160 --> 0:03:26.360 things the right way every single time. Don Shula, Mr Football, himself, 0:03:26.400 --> 0:03:30.840 the patriarch of the Miami Dolphins organization, gone today May fourth, 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:34.280 two thousand twenty. He was born January four, n thirty, 0:03:34.480 --> 0:03:37.160 at the age of ninety, has passed along. Let's go 0:03:37.200 --> 0:03:38.960 ahead now and get to the interviews. I had the 0:03:39.000 --> 0:03:42.440 pleasure of conducting with both Andy Cohen and Armando sal 0:03:42.520 --> 0:03:45.880 garow on Don Shula, the greatest coach in NFL history, 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:48.520 And joining me now on the Drive Time podcast is 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.640 a forty year veteran of the Miami Dolphins a columnist, 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:54.640 Andy Cohen, Andy, thank you so much for joining me today, sir. 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:58.240 Pleasure to be with you, Travis. Unfortunately we have to 0:03:58.280 --> 0:04:00.520 have you on today for some for some some umber news. 0:04:00.560 --> 0:04:03.440 Coach Shula passes away at the age of ninety. And 0:04:03.480 --> 0:04:06.560 who better to have a celebration of Sula's life and 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:09.240 what his career in football, both on the field and 0:04:09.280 --> 0:04:11.240 off the field, and all the contributions he made to 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:14.040 South Florida then yourself, and I want to just ask 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:16.240 you off the top here, Andy, who was Don Shula 0:04:16.320 --> 0:04:20.240 to you? Wow? He was so many things to me. 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:23.960 I when I first started to be the nineteen eighty 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:28.640 he was the most intimidating figure you can imagine. All 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:31.600 I did was see him from Afar and the success 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:34.480 he had and the perfect season and here I come 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:40.919 in nineteen eighty uh, twenty four year old reporter um 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:43.279 And I was intimidated at first, I have to admit. 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:46.360 But as I grew to know Shula and developed a 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:50.800 relationship with him, I began to understand that in order 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:54.160 to gain his respect, you have to work at it, 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:56.920 and you have to show him the type of person 0:04:57.000 --> 0:04:59.680 you are and reporter you are. And if he can 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:04.120 give the respect of you as a journalist, which it 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:07.400 took time for me, but he did, then he gains 0:05:07.480 --> 0:05:11.320 respect for you as a person, and he slowly begins 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:14.839 letting you in as he gains respect. If he doesn't 0:05:14.839 --> 0:05:18.040 gain respect for you, nothing you can do will allow 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:20.960 you into his world. Uh. And he'll let you know 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:23.520 it every day by the scowl on his face or 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:27.040 by the way he'll respond to your question. But as 0:05:27.080 --> 0:05:31.320 the years passed and the respect gained, I grew to 0:05:31.600 --> 0:05:34.240 not only admire and respect him, but love him. In 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:40.280 many ways. He was just a classy person, a wonderful 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:45.400 coach uh, somebody who cared deeply, somebody whose values were 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:50.720 true to himself from family, mass and football UM. And 0:05:50.880 --> 0:05:53.719 now as I look back on it, I feel very 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:57.600 fortunate to have gotten to know him. I never took 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:01.160 the friendship I developed with him for granted, and Travis, 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:03.960 over the last fifteen years, whenever I saw him, there 0:06:04.040 --> 0:06:08.040 was always a warm embrace, a warm handshake, and he'd 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:11.640 always look at me and say, one of the good guys, uh. 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.760 And I would really be thrilled by that. And I 0:06:14.880 --> 0:06:17.680 passed that on to my son's and it's something I'll 0:06:17.680 --> 0:06:21.760 truly never forget. Travis. We read a story earlier on 0:06:21.760 --> 0:06:24.880 on Monday Morning that Jeff Darlington mentioned a visit to 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:28.440 Don Shula's house where there was pictures of Reagan and 0:06:28.440 --> 0:06:31.640 the Dalai Lama and all these world renowned figures. But 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:34.960 Jeff said that Sula made him feel as if he 0:06:35.040 --> 0:06:37.680 was the most important person in the world at that time. 0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:39.520 And it sounds like you have a very similar experience 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.520 with coach. You know, I really did. And he didn't 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:45.000 know a lot of famous people, and you know, it 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:49.520 was it was funny sometimes because he was so focused, 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:52.680 and he was so he had such tunnel vision on 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:56.159 football that a lot of things. A lot of times 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:59.440 you wonder if whether he's losing what's happening in the 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:02.320 world around owned him. And you know, and although he 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:06.120 was old fashioned in many ways and really had trouble 0:07:06.839 --> 0:07:10.520 uh liking the new kind of music or liking the 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:15.760 new kind of TV uh, he uh, he knew a 0:07:15.800 --> 0:07:18.040 lot of people, and he had the respect of a 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:20.680 lot of people. And to sit in his office on 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:25.080 Sunday afternoons and here and his secretary say, coach Shula, 0:07:25.240 --> 0:07:29.840 George Steinbrenner's on the line or coach Shula whatever. Uh, 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:33.560 it was really remarkable to see the depth of the 0:07:33.600 --> 0:07:36.440 people he knew in the relationships that he had. And 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:38.640 he certainly carries that with him every day in his 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:41.440 life since he was such a prominent figure in South Florida. 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:44.440 And that became the case because of his on field 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:47.280 football acumen, a guy that you know, the first day 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:49.520 of training camp, you have to run. How how far 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:52.040 was it they had to run? Andy? Well, there was 0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:56.400 there was the twelve minute run and it was it 0:07:56.440 --> 0:07:58.400 was okay for a lot of the players, but the 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:02.200 offensive and defensive lineman really had trouble with it. Fail 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:04.160 it again. You have to keep running it until your 0:08:04.200 --> 0:08:07.200 try till you make it. And there were certain players 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:09.880 that just couldn't do it, and Sula would let the 0:08:10.400 --> 0:08:13.480 unlike today's world, Sheila would let the writers on the 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:16.800 field and we would stand in the big circle as 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:19.760 the players ran around, and it was it was a 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:23.000 remarkable thing. And the thing about Chula is when it 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:25.960 was over, he ran the twelve minute run and we're 0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:29.080 and when sprints were over. Every day after practice and 0:08:29.120 --> 0:08:33.280 these sprints went on and on. Shula sprinted every day 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:37.880 after practice. It was really it was really amazing because 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:40.520 there was nothing. It was very little. I should say 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:42.760 that he asked of his players that he wouldn't do 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:46.520 himself from a conditioning standpoint. Yeah, that to me just 0:08:46.559 --> 0:08:49.240 embodies leadership, right, because you can't ask someone to do 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:51.480 something that you're not willing to do yourself. And you 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:53.640 have a certain level of respect for coach, and it 0:08:53.640 --> 0:08:56.120 seems like every single player that played for him shared 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:59.240 that respect. Is that correct to say, you know? It's 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:03.080 it's certainly it's certainly correct to say, you know, And 0:09:03.120 --> 0:09:06.040 as far as a reporter, covering a coach, Travis, he 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:09.480 was the most accessible coach I have ever covered in 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:13.360 my forty years. He would often have two, sometimes three 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:16.920 practices a day, and he would make himself available at 0:09:16.920 --> 0:09:20.280 the end of every practice. Then then at lunchtime at 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:24.000 same timas University, he used to come from the coaches table, 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:27.600 sit down at the media lunch table. We ate with 0:09:27.640 --> 0:09:30.520 the coaches and the players during it. During those times, 0:09:30.520 --> 0:09:33.319 Travis and he would sit down with us and answer 0:09:33.440 --> 0:09:36.240 every question we had. Then he would stand up and 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:38.920 do live TV and then he would do TV shots 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:42.360 answer every question they had. Then if you needed more time, 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:44.560 and then he'd walked back through the parking lot to 0:09:44.640 --> 0:09:47.160 his office with you to give you more time. It 0:09:47.200 --> 0:09:51.200 was incredible how he understood the job we had and 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:54.520 what we needed to do to do it. Uh And 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:58.400 from that story, from that standpoint, I really didn't realize 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.440 how unusual he was until he left, and then you 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:04.520 started other coaches covering other coaches, and then you get 0:10:04.559 --> 0:10:10.120 today's world where there really is very very limited availability. Uh. 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:14.800 So he was remarkable not only to his players, Travis, 0:10:15.800 --> 0:10:18.000 but to the media as well. Yeah, I was gonna 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:19.720 say it sounds like you know, a man that's so 0:10:19.800 --> 0:10:22.200 well revered on the football field but also off of 0:10:22.240 --> 0:10:24.679 it as well, and the way he kind of cultivates 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:28.600 and and nurtures those those relationships certainly was special. Andy. 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.640 We really appreciate your time today and go check out 0:10:30.720 --> 0:10:33.560 Andy's piece on Miami Dolphins dot com. Tons of stories 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:35.600 with Don Shulan himself. You knew the man for so 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:39.720 many years, Andy, We really appreciate it. Gravis, always a pleasure. 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:42.640 So from one long time vet and Andy Cohen to 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:45.120 another on the beat from the Palm Beach Post and 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:47.000 now the Miami Heral, let's go ahead and talk to 0:10:47.120 --> 0:10:50.160 Armando sal Garrol on Coach Shula and joining me now 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:53.880 on the Drivetime podcast is longtime Miami Dolphins columnists from 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:57.120 the Miami Herald. He is Armando sal Garrol. Armando, how 0:10:57.240 --> 0:11:01.120 you doing today, sir? Well? Try was. It's not a 0:11:01.160 --> 0:11:05.520 great day, but all things considered, I guess we're all right. 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:08.120 We are moving forward now as coach Shula, at the 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:10.439 age of ninety, has passed on, but he left us 0:11:10.480 --> 0:11:13.559 a great legacy and plenty of great stories, and Armando, 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.200 you were They're up close and personal for much of 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:18.360 that earlier in your career, and I just want to 0:11:18.360 --> 0:11:24.240 get a sense of who was coach Shula to you, Wow, 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:27.320 that's a that's a good question, Travis. So to me, 0:11:27.600 --> 0:11:31.320 he was a guy that, you know, being a resident 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:36.200 of Miami from childhood. Um, I grew up watching him 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:42.160 on television. I grew up watching him raised Lombardi trophies 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:48.359 and um, you know, get on referees on the sideline 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:54.200 and congratulate his players. I grew up wanting to, you know, 0:11:54.800 --> 0:12:00.800 think that which was twelve blocks from my house was 0:12:00.960 --> 0:12:03.760 kind of his house, and so we were in the 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:08.800 same neighborhood. And then all of a sudden, I'm working for, um, 0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:11.280 you know, a couple of newspapers down here, first the 0:12:11.320 --> 0:12:14.120 Palm Beach Posts and then the Miami Herald, and lo 0:12:14.280 --> 0:12:18.319 and behold, I'm interviewing Don Shula and covering Don Shula. 0:12:18.880 --> 0:12:21.640 And you know, I was in my twenties at the time, 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:29.400 and it was quickly a education in how to have 0:12:29.559 --> 0:12:34.600 your facts right, how to be on your game right away, 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.280 and how to have respect and be respected because that's 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:42.760 how he worked. He respected everyone who you know, deserved 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:45.960 it and gave him respect back. And that's why I 0:12:45.960 --> 0:12:48.439 think we've got along pretty good. And it was definitely 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:51.840 a different era of media and of covering sports back 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.920 in those days where there was not so many restrictions around, 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.600 you know, certain coach and player availability, so you kind 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:00.800 of developed a closer relationship with the coach, isn't the players. 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:05.040 What was it like for you personally with coach Ula? Yeah, 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:09.760 So the way it would work once the Dolphins moved 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:15.559 from St. Thomas to Davey, Uh well, let me let 0:13:15.559 --> 0:13:19.000 me back up at St. Thomas. You gotta understand, the 0:13:19.080 --> 0:13:24.680 lunch hall was open to the media and we would 0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:31.640 as reporters eat every day and then at one point 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:34.480 Shula would get up and come over to the writer's 0:13:34.520 --> 0:13:40.440 table and just talk with the writers. And sometimes when 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:44.240 you needed something extra, you just walked back to his 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:48.000 office with Shula. I remember walking back with him and 0:13:48.080 --> 0:13:50.600 him telling me, Yeah, we've got this linebacker that no 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:54.880 one knows about that we're really excited about. You're gonna 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:58.040 see him do some good things here. Uh this year 0:13:58.120 --> 0:14:02.000 or next year. That guy's name was Brian cox Um. 0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:05.319 He had fourteen and a half sacks I think his 0:14:05.600 --> 0:14:09.920 first or second year, So Sula knew that he had 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:15.680 something special brewing. Once we were in Davy. He liked 0:14:15.760 --> 0:14:19.000 to run every day with Stuart Weinstein, who was this 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:22.800 security guy, and I knew that every day at noon 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.560 he was gonna go for his run. So I would 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:29.200 come up to Davy and they had to steal bench 0:14:30.440 --> 0:14:34.200 just outside the locker room, and I would sit myself 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:39.080 at the bench. Uh. There was really no gated security 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:41.760 or anything like that or the cameras that they got. Now. 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:45.480 I would sit there and after Shula's run, he would 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:50.200 come over and sit down and we talked football and 0:14:50.240 --> 0:14:53.680 he would tell me what he was thinking about the team, 0:14:54.680 --> 0:15:00.600 and I would shut up. That's how the relationship went. Uh. 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:04.160 So you know, Don Hula is talking, I think I'll 0:15:04.240 --> 0:15:08.360 just be quiet, um. And he appreciated that because I 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:12.600 recognized that, Mmm, do I know more than him or 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:15.600 does he know more than me? I think he knows 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:19.400 more than me. I just I'm gonna write um. And 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:23.200 that's how it went. And it was great because you 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:25.800 get to know a lot about the Miami Dolphins when 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:30.040 Don Shula is comfortable and sweaty and he just came 0:15:30.080 --> 0:15:34.640 off the field after a forty minute run. Yeah, that's 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:36.280 probably the best time to get ahold from there when 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:38.880 maybe he said as most honest, but I am curious 0:15:38.880 --> 0:15:41.160 to ask you because we talked about how, you know, 0:15:41.640 --> 0:15:43.840 modern day football and what it was back then has 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:46.040 changed quite a bit. But Shula was kind of the 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:48.200 face of the organization and kind of the guy you 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:51.280 mentioned Brian Cox and the evaluation and getting a guy 0:15:51.320 --> 0:15:53.640 like that ready to play at such a young age. 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:58.680 He was kind of the entire operation, wasn't he He 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:03.440 was the first word and the final word. And you know, 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:09.760 obviously he had people that helped them. I think that 0:16:09.840 --> 0:16:12.400 the quality of those people had a lot to do 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:17.240 with what kind of success he had on the field. Obviously, 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:22.440 when it was amazing great quality, like when Joe Thomas 0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:27.880 and Bobby Bethard were we're, you know, putting Pro Bowl 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:31.840 players on the roster, Shulo was taking Pro Bowl players 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:36.480 and turning him into Hall of famers. When others would 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:42.200 get alid good players often turned them into Pro Bowl players. 0:16:42.880 --> 0:16:47.880 But you know, it was a matter of that guy, 0:16:48.000 --> 0:16:52.240 the talent. He he was gonna win big, and he 0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:56.160 knew how to do it. He knew he knew how 0:16:56.200 --> 0:17:01.040 to turn um negatives into positive and at the very 0:17:01.120 --> 0:17:05.320 least high the negatives, and that was that was one 0:17:05.359 --> 0:17:09.479 of his talents. And he also wasn't too you know, 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:14.040 egotistical about how he got things done. We have to remember, Travis, 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:18.119 that Don Shula won back to back Super Bowls doing 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:22.520 what running the football and playing great defense with a 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:28.919 no name defense. Years later, this guy with you know, 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:33.120 floppy hair happened along and he could throw the football 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:36.359 a little bit. Don Shula had been to the to 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.720 the Super Bowl the year before, and then all of 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:43.600 a sudden he sees David Woodley on the practice field 0:17:43.680 --> 0:17:46.879 and he's got Dan Marino on the practice field. And 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:51.720 it wasn't long before Dan Marino was throwing the football. 0:17:52.440 --> 0:17:55.919 The Miami Dolphins were throwing the football, and they ushered 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:59.360 in a new era really in the NFL, of throwing 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:03.639 the football. And that's what the NFL has developed into today. 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.720 You know, forty eight touchdown passes in a year. Forty 0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:11.320 four touchdown passes in a year's still pretty great today, 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:16.679 although not the record back then, it was unheard of. 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:22.480 It was spectacular. And the fact that the Dolphins were 0:18:22.520 --> 0:18:25.760 the team that did that, the running, the running Dolphins, 0:18:25.880 --> 0:18:28.680 the three yards and a cloud of dust Dolphins. They're 0:18:28.720 --> 0:18:32.520 doing this. Yeah, that was Don Shula deciding this is 0:18:32.520 --> 0:18:34.880 what I got, this is what we're gonna go with. 0:18:35.320 --> 0:18:37.879 I think the second most touchdown passes that year Marino 0:18:37.960 --> 0:18:40.440 had forty eight was thirty two, if I'm not mistaken, 0:18:40.720 --> 0:18:42.760 And I think that's the perfect measure of what kind 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:45.040 of coach he was. Armando was a guy that could 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:47.119 take in his and beat yours or whatever. The famous 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:49.480 quote was. I know I butchered it just now, but 0:18:49.680 --> 0:18:51.600 that's I mean, that's the sense you get from people 0:18:51.640 --> 0:18:54.320 to talk about coach pretty much unanimously. I had not 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:56.879 more on this podcast not that long ago, and he 0:18:56.920 --> 0:19:00.600 talked about beating the Bears in because they attacked the 0:19:00.640 --> 0:19:02.879 forty six defense in a way that was different than 0:19:02.920 --> 0:19:06.120 anybody else had attacked it before that. So I'm curious 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:08.280 to get your sense because you cover so many different 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:11.800 characters and so many different coaches and players over the years, Armando, 0:19:12.160 --> 0:19:15.600 what was the general consensus from people you've talked to 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:17.800 the new coach about what kind of person he was 0:19:17.800 --> 0:19:22.080 and what kind of coach he was. Integrity. That's the 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:26.320 one word that pops up over and over and over, 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:31.800 and that was the one thing that don Chula strive 0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:38.120 for right up there with success and winning, because to him, 0:19:38.200 --> 0:19:42.320 it wasn't enough to win. It had to be you 0:19:42.359 --> 0:19:45.880 have to win with integrity. You have to win and 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:49.560 feel good about yourself as a person when you've done it. 0:19:50.000 --> 0:19:52.960 You're not going to cheat, You're not going to take 0:19:53.000 --> 0:19:59.320 advantage of loopholes. You're not going to do things that 0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:02.920 will come I can be smirch you and soil your reputation. 0:20:03.560 --> 0:20:06.679 You're going to do it with class. You're going to 0:20:06.800 --> 0:20:10.640 do it so that it holds up over history and 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:15.680 when the historians look back, they say, oh my gosh, 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:20.480 that was amazing and it was done in an amazing way. 0:20:20.520 --> 0:20:23.720 And that's what don Shula really was about, and not 0:20:23.920 --> 0:20:27.800 just by the way on the football field. I think 0:20:27.920 --> 0:20:33.199 that's that's preached to his kids. That was what he 0:20:33.240 --> 0:20:36.800 was about his entire life. He wanted to do things 0:20:37.600 --> 0:20:40.320 in that people would remember him. And now we're going 0:20:40.359 --> 0:20:44.400 to start remembering him, obviously because he's past, but they 0:20:44.480 --> 0:20:48.520 wanted he wanted that they remember him the right way. 0:20:49.160 --> 0:20:53.399 We're gonna remember a lot of coaches and players in 0:20:53.560 --> 0:21:00.800 NFL history. Some of those have histories that you know, yeah, 0:21:00.920 --> 0:21:05.040 but you understand what I'm saying. It's the yeah, but 0:21:05.359 --> 0:21:10.720 they did this other thing when you're talking about Don Shula, Um, 0:21:10.920 --> 0:21:14.960 I don't think there are any. Yeah, but certainly not 0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:17.720 especially we talk about the level of integrity and intensity 0:21:17.800 --> 0:21:20.600 that he coached with. And speaking of the intensity, Armando, 0:21:20.640 --> 0:21:22.399 I'd be remissed if I didn't ask you this on 0:21:22.440 --> 0:21:24.560 the way out. I know you're a great Joe Green 0:21:24.680 --> 0:21:27.359 story about standing up to Joe Green, I gotta ask you, 0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:29.199 do you have any run ins with coach that might 0:21:29.200 --> 0:21:33.240 get a little bit of a chuckle out of us? Yeah? Yeah, 0:21:33.240 --> 0:21:36.040 So the Joe Green story was Joe Green and I 0:21:36.080 --> 0:21:39.640 are going back and forth and you know whatever, Joe Green, 0:21:40.119 --> 0:21:42.800 don Shula. You don't stand up to Don Shula, Okay. 0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:46.399 And so that was a little different. And Joe Green, 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:49.200 by the way, is way bigger and way more intimidating 0:21:49.240 --> 0:21:53.600 physically than Don Shula. But the reputation, the reputation of 0:21:53.640 --> 0:21:58.480 Don Shula supersedes everything. And so one time I wrote 0:21:58.520 --> 0:22:04.320 a story about the dolphins on the road, and part 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:09.359 of that story included a passage of what the dolphins 0:22:09.400 --> 0:22:15.000 put in Don Shula sweet, um, you know for the 0:22:15.119 --> 0:22:18.440 night that he is there, and it included the fact 0:22:18.440 --> 0:22:21.320 that he gets a case of beer put in his 0:22:21.400 --> 0:22:27.040 sweet refrigerator for his you know, assistance or any visitors 0:22:27.080 --> 0:22:30.760 that might come around. And so I wrote it no 0:22:30.840 --> 0:22:34.400 big deal, right, I mean, are you offended that Don 0:22:34.440 --> 0:22:38.480 Shula had beard as refrigerator. I don't know that anyone 0:22:38.520 --> 0:22:43.240 really would be yet Don Shula I show up to 0:22:43.320 --> 0:22:49.000 one of those uh noon run things and I'm sitting 0:22:49.040 --> 0:22:54.119 there and he storms over and he's like, you made 0:22:54.119 --> 0:22:58.159 me look like a leap in the paper today, and 0:22:58.200 --> 0:23:03.040 I'm like what, And and there was about three minutes 0:23:03.080 --> 0:23:08.600 of dressing down by Don Shula because in his opinion, 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:11.800 I had made him look like he was like some 0:23:11.880 --> 0:23:17.520 sort of alcoholic, which obviously he was not. And so 0:23:18.520 --> 0:23:22.879 uh that that conversation and included me doing my best 0:23:23.119 --> 0:23:26.760 Ralph krammed them impersonation you're too young. But there was 0:23:26.800 --> 0:23:30.879 a show called The Honeymooners and the main guy, Jackie 0:23:30.920 --> 0:23:33.959 Gleeson was Ralph Kramdon And when he didn't have an 0:23:33.960 --> 0:23:39.000 answer for something, it was Hamana Hama, hamamama, hamana. That 0:23:39.160 --> 0:23:42.440 was his answer. And that was Armando going, but coach, 0:23:42.560 --> 0:23:47.679 I'm gonna hammna Hamma hammna hana how gonna um? So 0:23:48.560 --> 0:23:52.640 don Shula you know, took me out that day, um 0:23:53.000 --> 0:23:55.639 and undressed me and left me on the field right 0:23:55.680 --> 0:24:00.000 there crying, and uh. You know the funny thing about 0:24:00.000 --> 0:24:03.919 what it is. The next day he he calls and 0:24:03.920 --> 0:24:06.679 he goes, hey, and I'm like, oh, pit, here we 0:24:06.720 --> 0:24:10.240 go again. And I'm like yes, and he goes, I'm 0:24:10.320 --> 0:24:17.600 running at one today, not noon. Okay, I'll be there, okay, click, 0:24:18.520 --> 0:24:21.400 And you know, I thought he was gonna be still 0:24:21.400 --> 0:24:24.160