1980 Miami Dolphins season
Head coachDon Shula
Home fieldOrange Bowl
Results
Record8–8
Division place3rd AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersNone

The 1980 Miami Dolphins season was the 15th year of existence for the Miami Dolphins franchise. Quarterback Bob Griese retired after the season, following a 14-year career with the Dolphins. However, in Griese's final season the Dolphins would only play mediocre football finishing in third place with an 8-8 record. This was also the first season since 1969 that the Dolphins lost to the Buffalo Bills. For the season, the Dolphins switched the color of the facemasks on their helmets from gray to teal.

No Dolphins made it to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season. Griese was the highest-paid quarterback in the league at just over $400,000.[1]

Offseason

NFL draft

1980 Miami Dolphins draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 21 Don McNeal  Cornerback Alabama
2 48 Dwight Stephenson * †  Center Alabama
3 75 Bill Barnett  Defensive end Nebraska
4 100 Elmer Bailey  Wide receiver Minnesota
6 158 Eugene Byrd  Wide receiver Michigan State
7 185 Joe Rose  Tight end California
8 212 Jeff Allen  Defensive back UC Davis
8 214 David Woodley  Quarterback LSU
9 239 Mark Goodspeed  Offensive tackle Nebraska
10 271 Doug Lantz  Center Miami (OH)
10 272 Ben Long  Linebacker South Dakota
11 279 Phil Driscoll  Defensive end Mankato State
12 325 Chuck Stone  Guard North Carolina State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career
Source:[2]

Personnel

Staff

1980 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office

  • President – Joe Robbie
  • Executive vice president/general manager – Mike Robbie
  • Vice president – Don Shula
  • Director of player personnel – Chuck Connor

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Don Shula

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Steve Crosby, Carl Taseff
  • Punting – Tom Keane


Roster

1980 Miami Dolphins final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad

  • Currently vacant


Rookies in italics
 45 active, 0 inactive, 0 practice squad

Regular season

The 1980 NFL season would see the Dolphins drop to an 8–8 record, from their AFC East division winning 10–6 showing the previous year.

Quarterback Bob Griese, who struggled with leg problems during 1979, lost the starting job to longtime backup Don Strock, but he did poorly in two games, leading the Dolphins to return to Griese for week 3. In week 5, however, Griese suffered a career-ending shoulder injury against the Baltimore Colts and was succeeded by David Woodley, a rookie fresh from LSU.

Their week-1 loss to the Buffalo Bills was the Dolphins' first loss to that team since 1969, snapping a 20 game winning streak for Miami in the Bills-Dolphins rivalry. After the win, Bills fans rushed the field and tore down the goalposts. This was also Don Shula's first loss to Buffalo in 21 career games against them.

The final game of the season was played against the New York Jets on December 20. NBC tried a novel experiment by broadcasting the game with no commentators, and with none of the players or staff wearing microphones. The effect was to give television viewers the feel of actually being in the stadium. To date, this was the only NFL game ever aired on TV without commentaries. The Jets won by a score of 24–17, though both teams had already been eliminated from playoff contention.

It was during the ABC broadcast of the Monday Night Football game on December 8, 1980, against the Patriots that Howard Cosell announced that John Lennon had been shot and killed.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 7 at Buffalo Bills L 7–17 0–1 Rich Stadium 79,598
2 September 14 Cincinnati Bengals W 17–16 1–1 Miami Orange Bowl 38,322
3 September 21 at Atlanta Falcons W 20–17 2–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 55,470
4 September 28 New Orleans Saints W 21–16 3–1 Miami Orange Bowl 40,946
5 October 5 Baltimore Colts L 17–30 3–2 Miami Orange Bowl 50,631
6 October 12 at New England Patriots L 0–34 3–3 Schaefer Stadium 60,377
7 October 19 Buffalo Bills W 17–14 4–3 Miami Orange Bowl 41,636
8 October 27 at New York Jets L 14–17 4–4 Shea Stadium 53,046
9 November 2 at Oakland Raiders L 10–16 4–5 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 46,378
10 November 9 at Los Angeles Rams W 35–14 5–5 Anaheim Stadium 62,198
11 November 16 San Francisco 49ers W 17–13 6–5 Miami Orange Bowl 45,135
12 November 20 San Diego Chargers L 24–27 (OT) 6–6 Miami Orange Bowl 63,013
13 November 30 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–23 6–7 Three Rivers Stadium 51,384
14 December 8 New England Patriots W 16–13 (OT) 7–7 Miami Orange Bowl 63,292
15 December 14 at Baltimore Colts W 24–14 8–7 Memorial Stadium 30,564
16 December 20 New York Jets L 17–24 8–8 Miami Orange Bowl 41,854

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 at Bills

Week One: Miami Dolphins (0–0) at Buffalo Bills (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 0 707
Bills 0 3 01417

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Game information

Week 7 vs Bills

Week Seven: Buffalo Bills (5–1) at Miami Dolphins (3–3)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bills 0 0 7714
Dolphins 7 7 3017

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

Game information

Week 14: vs. New England Patriots

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
1 234OTTotal
Patriots 0 6070 13
• Dolphins 0 0673 16
Scoring summary
2PatriotsJohn Smith 23-yard field goalPatriots 3–0
2PatriotsJohn Smith 33-yard field goalPatriots 6–0
3DolphinsUwe von Schamann 27-yard field goalPatriots 6–3
3DolphinsUwe von Schamann 24-yard field goalTie 6–6
4PatriotsRuss Francis 38-yard pass from Matt Cavanaugh (John Smith kick)Patriots 13–6
4DolphinsNat Moore 8-yard pass from David Woodley (Uwe von Schamann kick)Tie 13–13
OTDolphinsUwe von Schamann 23-yard field goalDolphins 16–13

The Dolphins got revenge from their 34-0 shellacking in Foxborough back in October. The Patriots clawed to a 13–6 lead in the fourth quarter, then the Dolphins forced overtime with a David Woodley throw to Nat Moore in the fourth. John Smith attempted to kick the game-winning field goal, but had the kick blocked, then Uwe von Schamann of the Dolphins won it with a 23-yard field goal in the extra quarter. The game, though, became overshadowed by Howard Cosell's announcement that John Lennon had been shot and killed.[3]

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Buffalo Bills(3) 11 5 0 .688 4–4 8–4 320 260 W1
New England Patriots 10 6 0 .625 6–2 9–3 441 325 W2
Miami Dolphins 8 8 0 .500 3–5 4–8 266 305 L1
Baltimore Colts 7 9 0 .438 5–3 6–8 355 387 L3
New York Jets 4 12 0 .250 2–6 3–9 302 395 W1

References

  1. ↑ "Payton tops salary list of NFL players". Schenectady Gazette. (New York). Associated Press. February 13, 1981. p. 29.
  2. ↑ "1980 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  3. ↑ Ausiello, Jeff (December 5, 2010). "Ex-Pats kicker forever linked to Lennon". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
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