NFL legend Larry Csonka recalls Don Shula’s demanding coaching style, whether it would work in today’s NFL

The 1972 Miami Dolphins remain the only team in NFL history to finish the entire season undefeated and win the Super Bowl.

Larry Csonka was a part of the team, which was coached by Don Shula, one of the greatest NFL coaches.

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The Hall of Fame fullback appeared on OutKick’s “The Ricky Cobb Show” and detailed how tough and demanding it was playing for Shula. Csonka said Shula’s style likely wouldn’t work in today’s NFL.

“He was a very demanding, perfection-seeking head coach that would not take no for an answer,” Csonka said of Shula. “So, he was inescapable. He decided everything from when you were coming in, to what your weight was, to how you hiccup, to how you put your hand up on the sideline. He let no detail go astray. And until you realize that that formula works, when we started it made it more tolerable, but coach Shula first got there and started demanding all of that in coaching that way, there was a lot of people looking for the first bus out of Dodge. 

“I don’t know if you could even do that today. I don’t even know if his type of coaching would even fit in the NFL today. It certainly would be a square peg in a round hole. … When we started to win, it became easier to accept his demands, because when you start to win, and you start to win consistently to where you start to have faith in the team, and it starts to develop, it’s like a plant growing. Suddenly it starts to relish the sunlight, it starts to reach for it more and more.”

Miami head coach Don Shula is shown prior to the game against Washington in Super Bowl VII in Los Angeles on Jan. 14, 1973. (Darryl Norenberg-USA TODAY Sports)

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Csonka said that once he and his teammates started to see the formula work, that’s when they bought into it and came to tolerate his demands even more.

“We were the worst team in the NFL when he got here. In just one year, he started to turn us around. By the third year, we were headed for the Super Bowl. Think about that: the worst team in the NFL and then two to three years later you’re going to the Super Bowl. We didn’t win it, we lost it, but we went back. 

“We attained perfection because we learned to accept what he was preaching, we denied it at first, argued with it, called each other names. People transferred to other teams, all kinds of things happened. But eventually, as we started to win, we’re all pros, we’re all professionals. When we started to see that it worked, we started to accept more and more.”

Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka celebrates with fans as he is introduced prior to the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement on Aug. 6, 2022, in Canton, Ohio. (Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

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Csonka said that the 1972 team didn’t seek to be perfect but rather paid attention to the details enough to where execution led them to the Promised Land.

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