Throughout a Hall of Fame life, Don Shula never forgot his Northeast Ohio roots

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.

Don Shula was 68 years old when Larry and Charles Dolan called on the legendary coach to hoist a Hail Mary. The aspiring expansion owners tabbed Shula to be their credible football executive to lead the Browns back to the field in 1999.

Three years retired as the winningest NFL coach, and the only one to preside over a 17-0 perfect season, Shula was a thriving businessman in sunny south Florida, but was intrigued with finishing his NFL career where it all started for him – in Northeast Ohio with the Browns.

“I am very enthusiastic about the potential to play a part in rebuilding one of the greatest franchises in the NFL. I sincerely hope we succeed. It wasn’t something I sought. I’ve said only if something was exciting and appealed to me would I pursue it,” Shula said in a private interview I attended.

It was not to be, of course. The Dolans came in second to the Al Lerner-Carmen Policy partnership for the expansion Browns. It didn’t help Shula’s cause that the Dolan group was endorsed by Art Modell, the very man who absconded the old Browns to Baltimore.

The Dolans wound up buying the Cleveland Indians from Dick Jacobs. Shula’s participation in the expansion process was the final act of a football career that dissected frequently with the Cleveland Browns.

A native of Grand River, OH, and graduate of John Carroll University, Shula revered the Browns as a boy, was drafted by them, was traded by them, and coached some of the most historic games in NFL history against them.

At an early age, Shula chose football over the priesthood. But he never wavered in his Catholic faith and was a daily communicant throughout his playing and coaching career, and beyond.

Shula died peacefully in his home in Miami Lakes, FL, Monday morning at the age of 90.

“Much like the entire football community, we are mourning the loss of Don Shula,” the Browns said in a statement. “Well before he became known as the legendary Coach Shula, he was growing up in Northeast Ohio with a passion for the game we all love. We're proud of the fact that his football foundation was built in Ohio, starting at Harvey High School in Painesville, playing collegiately at John Carroll and then being drafted by the Browns. Coach Shula's contribution to our game are unmatched. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the entire Shula Family.”

The ties that bind

Shula was drafted by Paul Brown as a defensive back in 1951 shortly after the Browns had captured their first NFL championship in their first season in the NFL. Shula could hardly believe it. He once said quarterback Otto Graham was “my hero of all heroes.” Brown traded Shula after two seasons in a 10-for-5 swap with the Baltimore Colts that still stands as the largest trade in NFL history.

“My exposure to Paul Brown’s methods, both as a college player and then first-hand as a member of the Browns, shaped my entire coaching philosophy,” Shula said.

When Shula turned to coaching, he apprenticed under former Brown assistant Blanton Collier for a year at Kentucky before being named head coach of the Baltimore Colts at the age of 33 – the youngest NFL head coach in history at the time.

In his second season, Shula took the heavily-favored Colts into the NFL championship game against the Browns, then coached by Collier. The Browns won in a shocking upset, 27-0, which was their last championship.

Four years later, Shula suffered another epic loss against a big underdog, losing Super Bowl III to the AFL upstart New York Jets, earning the reputation for not winning the big game.

A year later, Shula left the Colts to join the Miami Dolphins, who had not won more than five games in any of their four seasons. Prior to signing Shula, Dolphins GM Joe Thomas orchestrated a controversial trade for Browns wide receiver Paul Warfield.

“I recall the great, great, great disappointment,” Warfield told me in a phone interview on Monday. “I started my career in Cleveland with the Browns. Living in Warren, OH, playing for my favorite team, it was a dream come true. I played with the great Jim Brown. We won the NFL title in 1964. Learning that news that day, when I received a call from the late Art Modell, was a great disappointment. However, 10 days later, Don Shula would come to the Miami Dolphins as the new head coach. Immediately I began to feel like, with his record in Baltimore, things were probably looking up. From that point on, the rest was history.”

The Dolphins won 10 games their first season with Shula as coach, and then reached the Super Bowl the next three seasons in a row, winning the latter two. In 1972, they responded from their first Super Bowl loss – Shula’s third in three championship games – by running the table of 14 regular-season wins in a row and three in the playoffs to become the first and only undefeated team in NFL history.

They barely avoided an upset by the Browns in their first playoff game, coming back from a 14-13 fourth-quarter deficit to win, 20-14.

“Because we had lost in our first Super Bowl appearance the year before, the year after, Don Shula really set the tone for what we needed to do to go on from there,” Warfield recalled. “I remember we were so intent, so focused, we were practically unaware of what we were accomplishing until we played the Giants in the 13th game.”

Over the years, members of the undefeated Dolphins team would celebrate with a toast when the last undefeated team in an NFL season would lose, securing the ’72 Dolphins their unbreakable record.

Joe Horrigan, former executive vice president of the Hall of Fame, said that a few years ago Shula donated almost all his personal journals, playbooks and collection of artifacts to the Canton shrine – except for his playbook from the undefeated season.

“Don was proud of his accomplishments, as he should be,” Horrigan said. “That was one, he didn’t gloat over it, but you can be sure he was proud of it to the point where when someone wanted to toast to it, he’d be right there. I’d always thought there was divine interference in protecting that record.”

The closest any team came to duplicating the feat was the 2007 New England Patriots, who went 16-0 in the regular season and then lost to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.

The only other professional team to win them all was the 1948 Browns of Paul Brown in the All-America Football Conference.

The best

Shula retired after 33 seasons as a head coach with the most regular season wins (328), most total wins (347) and, of course, the perfect season. Belichick, 68, is stalking Shula’s records with 273 regular wins and 304 total.

Shula reached the NFL championship game with five different quarterbacks and won twice. Belichick won six of nine appearances with Tom Brady as his quarterback.

Shula had two losing seasons in 33 years.

“I’ve been saying it for years, the measure of a coach is his success,” Horrigan said. “No one won more games than him, no one had a perfect season other than Paul Brown. I’ve always said [Shula] is the all-time greatest coach, based on what you judge a coach for. Paul Brown would be his chief competition. The longevity of his career and the accomplishments, I don’t think will ever be beaten. The reality of a coach’s world is one losing season and you’re out of a job. I put him at the top.”

In south Florida, there are Don Shula Steakhouses along the Don Shula Expressway. There is an annual Shula Bowl involving two south Florida rivals, Florida International and Florida Atlantic. There is a Don Shula statue in front of Hard Rock Stadium near the Dolphins’ business offices at 347 Don Shula Drive. And every year, the Don Shula Award is given to a high school coach for “their character, integrity, leadership, dedication to the community, commitment to player protection and on-field success.”

On Monday evening, John Carroll University shined the lights at Don Shula Stadium from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. as a tribute to the university’s most famous alum. Flags on campus were lowered in the afternoon.

John Carroll president Dr. Michael D. Johnson said in a statement:

“He will be remembered by most for his Hall of Fame NFL coaching career. But his impact on our community cannot be overlooked. He set a high standard for future JCU alumni looking to play, coach, or work in the NFL. Today, Don Shula Stadium and the Shula Chair in Philosophy stand as clear reminders of the man who never forgot his roots.

“Our condolences go out to his family, along with the thanks of a community grateful for his generosity and example.”