There is a quote from Don Shula that may help you understand the man: “You ever talk to me like that again, I’ll kick your ass.” What makes it interesting is that Shula did not say it to a player or a reporter. He said it to his boss: Dolphins owner Joe Robbie.
Shula died Monday morning, at age 90, after a long, rich, life and a career unlike any in NFL history. He got his first NFL head-coaching job when John F. Kennedy was president and retired late in Bill Clinton’s first term. The world and the game changed drastically during those 33 years, yet neither passed Shula by.