Miami Dolphins

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The Dolphins were founded by Joe Robbie, an attorney and politician, and Danny Thomas, an actor and comedian. They began play in the AFL in 1966. The region had not had a professional football team since the days of the Miami Seahawks, who played in the All-America Football Conference in 1946, before becoming the first incarnation of the Baltimore Colts. For the first few years, the Dolphins' full-time training camp and practice facilities were at Saint Andrew's School, a private, boys boarding prep school in Boca Raton. Miami joined the NFL as a result of the 1970 AFL–NFL merger. The team played in its first Super Bowl in Super Bowl VI, losing to the Dallas Cowboys, 24–3. The following year, the Dolphins completed a perfect season, culminating in a win in Super Bowl VII. The Dolphins then repeated as champions by winning Super Bowl VIII, becoming the first team to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls, and the second team (the first AFL/AFC team) to win back-to-back championships. Miami later appeared in Super Bowl XVII and Super Bowl XIX, losing both games. For most of their early history, the Dolphins were coached by Don Shula, the most successful head coach in professional football history in terms of total games won. Under Shula, the Dolphins posted losing records in only two of his 26 seasons as the head coach. During the period spanning 1983 to the end of 1999, quarterback Dan Marino became one of the most prolific passers in NFL history, breaking numerous league passing records. Marino led the Dolphins to five division titles, 10 playoff appearances, and an appearance in Super Bowl XIX before retiring following the 1999 season. Since Marino's retirement, they have experienced mediocre levels of success and have just six playoff appearances (2000, 2001, 2008, 2016, 2022, and 2023) and two division titles (2000 and 2008) with one playoff win. They currently have the longest postseason win drought in the NFL, with their most recent playoff win coming in the 2000 season. In December 2024, the Dolphins, led by owner Stephen M. Ross, became one of the first teams in NFL history to sell part of their team to outside private equity investors. 13% of the Dolphins franchise was sold at a valuation of $8.1 billion, including 10% to the American investment group Ares Management.

In Their Own Story

The road to the playoffs was paved with historic highs and crushing lows. After the record-setting 70–20 demolition of the Denver Broncos in Week 3, the team faced a dramatic collapse in Week 14 against the Tennessee Titans. Holding a 27–13 lead with over four minutes remaining, the Dolphins blew a 14-point advantage in the final three minutes, becoming the first team in NFL history to do so. The season culminated in a bitter AFC Wild Card matchup at Arrowhead Stadium. It was Tyreek Hill's return to face his former team alongside Justin Houston, Melvin Ingram, and Emmanuel Ogbah. In freezing conditions that made it one of the coldest games ever played, the Dolphins were shut down 26–7 by the repeat Super Bowl champion Chiefs. This loss extended their playoff victory drought to its longest active duration in the league.

Reader's Guide

The Miami Dolphins joined the American Football League (AFL) when an expansion franchise was awarded to lawyer Joseph Robbie and actor Danny Thomas in 1965 for $7.5 million, although Thomas would eventually sell his stake in the team to Robbie. During the summer of 1966, the Dolphins' training camp was in St. Pete Beach with practices in August at Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport. The Dolphins were the worst team with a 15–39–2 record in their first four seasons under head coach George Wilson, before Don Shula was hired as head coach. Shula was a Paul Brown disciple who had been lured from the Baltimore Colts, after losing Super Bowl III two seasons earlier to the AFL's New York Jets, and finishing 8–5–1 the following season. Shula got his first NFL coaching job from then-Detroit head coach George Wilson, who hired him as the defensive coordinator. The AFL merged with the NFL in 1970, and the Dolphins were assigned to the AFC East division in the NFL's new American Football Conference. For the rest of the 20th century, the Shula-led Dolphins emerged as one of the most dominant teams in the NFL, with only two losing seasons between 1970 and 1999. They were extremely successful in the 1970s, completing the first complete perfect season in NFL history by finishing with a 14–0 regular-season record in 1972 and winning the Super Bowl that year. It was the first of two consecutive Super Bowl wins and one of three appearances in a row. The 1980s and 1990s were also moderately successful. The early 80s teams made two Super Bowls despite losing both times and saw the emergence of future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino, who went on to break numerous NFL passing records, holding many of them until the late 2000s. After winning every game against the division rival Buffalo Bills in the 1970s, the two teams gradually developed a competitive rivalry in the 80s and 90s, often competing for AFC supremacy when Jim Kelly emerged as the quarterback for the Bills. The Dolphins have also maintained a strong rivalry with the New York Jets throughout much of their history. After Marino and Shula retired and with the rise of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, the Dolphins suffered a decline in the 2000s and 2010s. During that time, the team's level of play was largely described as mediocre. They have only made the playoffs four times since Marino's retirement and have us

Did You Know?

• The Dolphins are the oldest professional sports team in Florida.
• The Dolphins completed the first perfect season in NFL history in 1972, going 14–0 in the regular season and winning Super Bowl VII.
• Don Shula is the most successful head coach in professional football history in terms of total games won.
• The Dolphins have the longest postseason win drought in the NFL, with their most recent playoff win coming in the 2000 season.