Statue was set up along with NFL award to honor Shula

To honor one of the best coaches in NFL history, the Miami Dolphins announced Sunday before the Pro Bowl game that they have had a new stadium and a new statue in front of the new offices. The statue is in likeliness to Don Shula, who led the Dolphins to complete the league’s only perfect season in 1972.


And the NFL plans to spread respects for the Hall of Fame coach by creating an annual Coach Shula Award, which will honor a coach at any level who displays the integrity, achievement and positive impact on others exemplified by Shula.

The 11-foot-tall statue outside Sun Life Stadium shows Shula pumping a fist as he rides the shoulders of two of his players, replicating the celebration after the 1972 Dolphins won the Super Bowl. And the address for the new Stadium is 347 Don Shula Drive, and 347 is the number of the victories Shula had led his team to during his career.

Those wearing Dolphins jerseys during Shula’s coaching include Bob Griese, who was quarterback in the 1972 Super Bowl win, and Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino. 18 other of Shula’s former players attended the ceremony on Sunday.