Bill Belichick, the active coach who has the best chance of breaking Don Shula’s all-time wins record, was effusive in his praise of Shula today.
“Don Shula is one of the all-time great coaching figures and the standard for consistency and leadership in the NFL,” Belichick said in a statement. “I was fortunate to grow up in Maryland as a fan of the Baltimore Colts who, under Coach Shula, were one of the outstanding teams of that era. My first connection to Coach Shula was through my father, whose friendship with Coach Shula went back to their days in northeast Ohio. I extend my deepest condolences to the Shula family and the Dolphins organization.”
Those are classy comments from Belichick, who wasn’t always treated kindly by Shula. Belichick has been referred to as “Beli-cheat” by Shula, and Shula once contrasted his own success with Belichick’s by saying, “We didn’t deflate any balls.”
Shula is the NFL’s all-time leader with 347 coaching wins. Belichick is third in NFL history with 304 coaching wins.