The Miami Dolphins are a seasoned American football team (gridiron), hailing from the Miami Metropolitan area. They represent one of the four teams in the AFC East Division of the NFL’s American Football Conference (AFC). Stephen M. Ross owns the team, which is the oldest professional sports team in Florida.
The team calls the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, their home ground. Interestingly, the Dolphins are the only team in their division that wasn’t a charter member of the old American Football League (AFL). This league was the NFL’s earlier rival. The Dolphins, along with the Atlanta Falcons, were among the first football teams to emerge from the southeastern region of the United States.
Joe Robbie, an attorney-politician, and the actor-comedian Danny Thomas founded the Miami Dolphins in 1965. They played their first season in the AFL in 1966 and were the first professional football team in that region since the Miami Seahawks. This team, the Seahawks, played in the All-America Football Conference twenty years prior. The franchise went on to become the Baltimore Colts who, in turn, are the present-day Indianapolis Colts.
The Miami Dolphins reached their first Super Bowl in Super Bowl VI but lost out to the Dallas Cowboys. However, the next year they achieved the league’s only perfect season, winning all fourteen of their regular-season games. They then topped it off by winning all three playoff games en route to winning the Super Bowl.
This historic team is mentioned nearly every NFL season. Whenever a team starts the season with a perfect record over numerous weeks, the pundits often invoke the 1972 Miami Dolphins for comparisons.
In modern times, the 2007 New England Patriots came close to matching the perfect season. However, they fell in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants. Modern comparisons between the historic 1972 Miami Dolphins and contemporary teams could point out that it’s harder to go undefeated now because there are more games played. For instance, an undefeated team would now need to win 20 games en route to running the tables. The ’72 Dolphins, conversely, went 17-0.
Although they were the third team to manage the perfect season, it was the first to do so after the AFL/NFL merger. They won the Super Bowl the following season – and this made them the first team to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls and only the second team to win back-to-back Super Bowls. They went on to appear in Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XIX but lost both times.
All About the Miami Dolphins
For nearly all of their early seasons, the Miami Dolphins were coached by Don Shula – who, in terms of games won, has been one of the most successful head coaches in the history of professional football. Under the guidance of Shula, the Dolphins only posted 2 losing records out of 26 seasons. Between 1983 and 1999, their star quarterback, Dan Marino became one of the best passers ever in the sport, breaking several league passing records in his career.
He led the Miami Dolphins to the 1984 Super Bowl (Super Bowl XIX), but his team lost the game to the San Francisco 49ers. This would mark the only appearance for the Dolphins in the Super Bowl during Marino’s era. It was also the last time the Dolphins made it to the NFL’s championship game.
In modern times, the team has generally struggled to make the playoffs. However, the 2022/23 NFL saw Miami qualify for the postseason, where they went out in the Wild Card round. One lasting image from the last season was the on-field concussion that Tua Tagovailoa, Miami’s young quarterback, suffered back and neck injuries against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Miami Dolphins Player Personnel
- Owner: Stephen M. Ross
- Chairman: Stephen M. Ross
- CEO: Tom Garfinkel
- Head Coach: Mike McDaniel
- General Manager: Chris Grier
The Miami Dolphins Main Rivalries
The Miami Dolphins main rivals in the NFL are:
The Buffalo Bills
The Dolphins and Buffalo Bills have been rivals for a long time. During the 1970s, the rivalry was pretty one-sided in favor of the Dolphins – who won all 20 games in that decade. However, in the 1980s and 1990s after the signing of the Bills starting quarterback, Jim Kelly, things started to change. Although both teams were considered dominant in that era, it was the Bills that managed to gain the advantage – and they dominated the Dolphins in their four playoff matches in the nineties. The only playoff game won by the Dolphins was after Jim Kelly retired.
In the 2000s, the division saw the rise of the Patriots after they signed Tom Brady. This time frame also saw the retirements of Jim Kelly and Dolphin’s star Dan Marino. However, the two teams are still intense. Heading into the 2023/24 season, Miami Dolphins lead the head-to-head series 62-56-1. The Dolphins and Bills will play on October 1st, 2023 in the upcoming season. They will also play in the final week of the regular season, on January 7th, 2024.
The New England Patriots
During the seventies and nineties, it was the Dolphins that was the dominant team. However, this is not to say that there weren’t some memorable moments – such as the Snowplow game. This was a controversial game in 1982 where icy conditions in New England kept the score tied at zero for nearly the entire game. An example of ‘home-cooking’ in sports, the only successful scoring attempt resulted when the Patriots’ had a spot cleared so that they could attempt a field goal.
The series went New England’s way when Tom Brady signed as quarterback for the Patriots. The Patriots have dominated not just the division, but the entire AFC. Although the Dolphins proved a more challenging opponent than either the Bills or Jets in the 2000s, they didn’t break the team’s power. They did win some memorable games though, including the Miracle in Miami – and the Night that Courage Wore Orange in 2004, where the Dolphins came from 2-11 to win 28-29 to beat the defending Super Bowl champions – handing them the second defeat of the season.
To date, these teams have met 115 times and the Dolphins have won 60 times to the Patriots 55. Their first game was in November 1966 and this also resulted in a win for the Dolphins. The longest winning streak also belongs to the Dolphins with 9 consecutive victories between 1989-1993. The two teams will next meet on September 17th, 2023 in the upcoming season.
The New York Jets
The rivalry between the Miami Dolphins and New York Jets is probably the most bitter of all. There is a lot of anger from the Dolphins fans to the Jets based around the number of New York City-folk that relocate to South Florida – and that is coupled with the Jet’s cocky attitude.
Unlike some of the other rivalries, this is one that has been much more consistent throughout the years. They have produced some very memorable moments – such as Dan Marino’s fake spike and the time when Vinny Testaverde led the Jets to an impressive Monday Night Football comeback. It was also intensified when the Dolphins signed former jets quarterback, Chad Pennington – who led them to a divisional win. They have also faced off in the 1982 AFC Championships, which was won by the Dolphins who went on to appear in Super Bowl XVII against the Washington Redskins.
Miami currently leads this close series 58-56-1. The two teams will play on November 24th, 2023, and on December 17th, 2023 in the upcoming season.
Miami Dolphins Facts
Everything you need to know about the Miami Dolphins…
Miami Dolphins Nicknames
- The No-Name Defense – the nickname given to the team’s defense in the 1970s
- The Killer Bees Defense – the nickname given to the defense in the 1980s
- Phins
- Fins
Championships Wins:
To date, the Miami Dolphins won 2 consecutive Super Bowl Championships:
- 1972: Super Bowl VII
- 1973: Super Bowl VIII
NFL/NFC Conference Championships
In the Miami Dolphins franchise history, they have won the AFC Conference Championships five times:
- 1971
- 1972
- 1973
- 1982
- 1984
Division Championships
The Miami Dolphins NFL team has won 13 AFC East division titles:
- 1971
- 1972
- 1973
- 1974
- 1979
- 1981
- 1983
- 1984
- 1985
- 1992
- 1994
- 2000
- 2008
Playoff Berth Appearances
The Miami Dolphins clinched NFC playoff spots 23 times since they were first established:
1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2016, and 2022.
Miami Dolphins Home Fields
Since they were first created, the Miami Dolphins have had two home fields:
- The Miami Orange Bowl between 1966 and 1986
- Hard Rock Stadium from 1987 until present
Miami Dolphins Pro Football Hall of Famers
There are nine players who have spent the majority of their career with the Dolphins that have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The starred players have spent a part of their career with the Dolphins but have been placed in the Hall of Fame primarily based on their role in another team.
Players
- No. Player Position Dates Induction
- 42 Paul Warfield WR 1970–1974 1983
- 39 Larry Csonka FB 1968–1974, 1979 1987
- 62 Jim Langer C 1970–1979 1987
- 12 Bob Griese QB 1967–1980 1990
- 66 Larry Little G 1969–1980 1993
- 57 Dwight Stephenson C 1980–1987 1998
- 85 Nick Buoniconti LB 1969–1974, 1976 2001
- 13 Dan Marino QB 1983–1999 2005
- 34 Thurman Thomas* RB 2000 2007
- 88 Cris Carter* WR 2002 2013
- 55 Junior Seau* LB 2003–2005 2015
- 99 Jason Taylor DE 1997–2007, 2009 & 2011 2017
Coaches and Contributors
- Name Position Seasons Inducted
- Don Shula Head Coach 1970–1995 1997
- Bill Parcells Executive VP of Football Ops 2008–2010 2013
- Bobby Beathard Director of Player Personnel 1972–1977 2018
- Jimmy Johnson Head Coach 1996–1999 2020
- George Young Director of Personnel 1975–1978 2020
Miami Dolphins Most Valuable Player Awards
Here are all the Most Valuable Player Awards (MVP) received by Miami Dolphins players:
- Season Player Position
- 1973 OJ Simpson RB
- 1991 Thurman Thomas RB
Miami Dolphins FAQs
What Are the Odds of the Dolphins Winning the Super Bowl?
This depends on what bookmakers you look at – and the odds will change as the season progresses. To look for the available odds choose a betting site that offers features such as live streaming, audio gallery, promo and bonus offers etc. Click on Super Bowl, menu, teams and look for the Dolphins. You can choose between all sorts of bets such as Moneyline, Totals, Against the Spread and more.
The odds will be based on their current form, so keep on top of it to see if it’s a value bet. Look at their Instagram, Twitter, Facebook pages, gamepass games insights, check out Dolphins news in the Miami Herald etc. Look through location network news, pause – decide whether or not the odds fairly represent the chance of the Dolphins winning.
Do Betting Sites offer NFL Fantasy Bets?
More NFL sites for betting offer draft fantasy menu games. Search for regulated fantasy betting sites, download draft fantasy filter and choose your favourite players – from Star Dolphins quarterbacks to Jets running backs. You can become your very own NFL manager. Always make sure you choose a regulated and legal fantasy betting site.
