The lasting impact of Miami Dolphins legend Don Shula has left on the NFL extends well beyond just his legacy with the Dolphins. And now that Shula has passed, his far-reaching impact on the game of football is more important than ever as we look out across the NFL landscape to appreciate just how much Shula has helped make the NFL what we know and love.
One popular barometer for NFL coaches is to look at their “tree” — assistants who work under a coach before moving on to a promotion elsewhere and, hopefully, a head coaching gig for a different team. Shula’s coaching tree is vast and holds many branches — thanks in large part to some early relationships created during his time with both the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins.
Here are just some of the names on Shula’s coaching tree.
Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh Steelers (Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1993)
Noll served three seasons as Shula’s defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Colts before moving on to become the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969. Noll would hold that job until his retirement in 1991. By extension, Noll adds the following names to Shula’s coaching tree by association — plus what names each of the them add onto the extending branches of Shula’s coaching tree.
- Tony Dungy (Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2016)
- Jim Caldwell (Colts/Lions)
- Herm Edwards (current Arizona State Sun Devils head coach)
- Mike Tomlin (current Pittsburgh Steelers head coach)
- Frank Reich (current Indianapolis Colts head coach)
- John Fox (Panthers/Broncos/Bears)
- Vic Fangio (current Denver Broncos head coach)
- Adam Gase (current New York Jets head coach)
Shula’s coaching tree enjoys one heck of a boost from the Noll branch — a testament to the stability of seeing one of his key assistants in Baltimore spend two decades as a staple of another proud franchise in Pittsburgh with the Steelers.
Bill Arnsparger, New York Giants & LSU Tigers
Arnsparger isn’t a coaching staple, but he was a constant presence around Shula’s Dolphins — every few years he’d suddenly find himself back working with Shula. He served as Shula’s DL coach in Baltimore with the Colts and was Shula’s defensive coordinator on two separate occasions from 1970-1973 and then again from 1976-1983. The duo coached in four Super Bowls together with the Dolphins. Arnsparger’s branch of Shula’s tree is owed to one key hire with the New York Giants.
- Marty Schottenheimer, Browns/Chiefs/Redskins/Chargers
- Bruce Arians (current Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach)
- Bill Cowher (Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2020)
- Mike McCarthy (current Dallas Cowboys head coach)
- Wade Phillips (former Saints, Broncos, Bills, Falcons, Cowboys & Texans head coach)
- Art Shell (former LA/Oakland Raiders head coach)
- Tony Sparano (former Miami Dolphins head coach)
- Hue Jackson (former Cleveland Browns head coach)
Schottenheimer served as Arnsparger’s linebackers coach for two years in New York with the Giants from 1975-1976. Schottenheimer went on to serve as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers. With 200 career wins, Schottenheimer is the only NFL head coach with 200+ wins not inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Remember this. The odds are strong that at some point along the way, Don Shula’s coaching impacted and shaped those who molded the coaches who hold positions with NFL franchises near and far. It serves as another credit to Shula’s legacy with the NFL — at least three Hall of Fame head coaches have had their careers guided by Shula or his disciples and nearly one quarter of the NFL’s active head coaches stem from just two branches of Shula’s 33-year head coaching career.