Former Miami Dolphins linebacker Mike “Captain Crunch” Kolen died Wednesday at age 76, his alma mater Auburn University announced.
Kolen was the Dolphins’ 12th round draft pick in the 1970 NFL draft and spent his entire eight-year career with the team. As a key member of Miami’s “No Name Defense,” Kolen was part of a Dolphins dynasty that went undefeated in the 1972 season and won back-to-back Super Bowls.
We mourn the passing of 1985 Inductee Mike Kolen. Kolen was the leading tackler in 16 of 25 games that he started in at Auburn University from 1967-1969. Kolen was one of the toughest linebackers in the “no-name defense” of the Miami Dolphins for eight years. pic.twitter.com/rvlU3uerse
— Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (@ASHOF) April 3, 2024
In 2016, Kolen published The Greatest Team: A Playbook for Champions, a novel about his journey in football and life. A year later, the former Dolphins linebacker revealed to the Miami Herald that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Kolen first earned his nickname “Captain Crunch” while at Auburn where he was a two-time All-SEC selection and one-time All-American. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1985 and Auburn has long given the “Mike Kolen Award” to its leading tackler at the end of the season.
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