Shula would never say it, but the other celebrity coaches who followed him here, Jimmy Johnson and Nick Saban, got more adulation in South Florida than they actually earned.

The Don of Dolphins football was swept off his throne by a wave of Jimmy fever, remember, and one that didn’t last. Jimmy lost interest in the Dolphins after just four seasons, with the 10-6 season of 1998 his high-water mark. As mentioned before, that was about average for Shula, who had just two losing seasons in 33 years of coaching in Baltimore and Miami. Half a dozen losing records have been served up by the Dolphins since his departure following the 1995 season and another one is in progress today.