Shula's Passion Powered Far More Than Perfection
Coach Don Shula had a great run. But the world lost a unique influence today with his passing. At least he was a very positive influence on me, and likely dozens of the players he coached and legions of football fans. Better research from other writers will do a far better job covering all of the accolades Don Shula compiled over a lifetime of football. Among those stats, I learned just today that the he also intercepted 21 passes in his brief career playing for three NFL teams over six seasons before he jumped into the coaching ranks. Shula never claimed to be an exceptional athlete, so I imagine a number of those interceptions were because of how well he understood the game. That understanding helped him become the youngest NFL coach in history by the time the Baltimore Colts hired him in 1963. It was Shula's time in Baltimore that endeared him to my Maryland family. In particular, my grandparents continued to be fans of the coach even after he left the Co