American Football Wiki
1980 Miami Dolphins season
Head Coach Don Shula
Home Field Miami Orange Bowl
Results
Record 8–8
Place 3rd AFC East
Playoff Finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous Season Next Season
1979 1981

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]

Season summary[]

The 1980 NFL season would see the Dolphins drop to an 8–8 record, from their 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.

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, costing the Dolphins a chance at a playoff berth.

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

Personnel[]

Coaches / Staff[]

1980 Miami Dolphins final staff
Front Office
  • Team Owner / 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

  • Quarterbacks/receivers – Dan Henning
  • Offensive backs – Carl Taseff
  • Offensive line/running game – John Sandusky
  Defensive Coaches
  • Assistant head coach/defense – Bill Arnsparger
  • Defensive line/run defense – Mike Scarry
  • Defensive backs – Tom Keane

Special Teams Coaches

  • Special Teams Coaches – Steve Crosby, Carl Taseff
  • Punting – Tom Keane

Strength and Conditioning

  • None - N/A

Roster[]

1980 Miami Dolphins final roster
Quarterbacks
  • 10 Don Strock
  • 16 David Woodley
  • 17 Pete Woods

Running backs

  • 34 Woody Bennett
  • 35 Nick Giaquinto
  • 38 Steve Howell FB
  • 31 Rick Moser
  • 22 Tony Nathan
  • 24 Delvin Williams

Wide receivers

  • 88 Elmer Bailey
  • 81 Jimmy Cefalo
  • 82 Duriel Harris
  • 89 Nat Moore

Tight ends

  • 84 Bruce Hardy
  • 86 Ronnie Lee
  • 80 Joe Rose
Offensive linemen
  • 63 Mark Dennard C
  • 61 Thom Dornbrook
  • 79 Jon Giesler T
  • 74 Cleveland Green T
  • 67 Bob Kuechenberg G
  • 68 Eric Laakso T
  • 64 Ed Newman G
  • 57 Dwight Stephenson C

Defensive linemen

  • 78 Carl Barisich DT
  • 70 Bill Barnett
  • 73 Bob Baumhower DT
  • 75 Doug Betters DE
  • 83 Vern Den Herder DE
Linebackers
  • 58 Kim Bokamper
  • 51 Rusty Chambers
  • 77 A. J. Duhe
  • 50 Larry Gordon
  • 54 Ralph Ortega
  • 55 Earnest Rhone
  • 59 Steve Shull

Defensive backs

  • 43 Jeff Allen
  • 46 Don Bessillieu
  • 47 Glenn Blackwood
  • 33 William Cesare
  • 25 Tim Foley S
  • 48 Gerald Small CB
  • 45 Ed Taylor CB

Special teams

  • 4 George Roberts P
  • 5 Uwe von Schamann K
Reserve lists
  • 12 Bob Griese QB (IR)
  • 38 Terry Robiskie FB (IR)
  • 60 Jeff Toews G (IR)
  • 66 Larry Little G (IR)
  • 56 Steve Towle LB (IR)
  • 44 Doug Beaudoin DB (IR)
  • 28 Don McNeal CB (IR)
  • 37 Mike Kozlowski DB (IR)
  • -- Don Swell G (IR)


Practice squad

  • Currently vacant


Rookies in italics
45 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 Practice squad


Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 7 at Buffalo L 17–7 0-1
79,598
2 September 14 Cincinnati W 17–16 1-1
38,322
3 September 21 at Atlanta W 20–17 2-1
55,470
4 September 28 New Orleans W 21–16 3-1
40,946
5 October 5 Baltimore L 30–17 3-2
50,631
6 October 12 at New England L 34–0 3-3
60,377
7 October 19 Buffalo W 17–14 4-3
41,636
8 October 27 at NY Jets L 17–14 4-4
53,046
9 November 2 at Oakland L 16–10 4-5
46,378
10 November 9 at Los Angeles W 35–14 5-5
62,198
11 November 16 San Francisco W 17–13 6-5
45,135
12 November 20 San Diego L 27–24 6-6
63,013
13 November 30 at Pittsburgh L 23–10 6-7
51,384
14 December 8 New England W 16–13 7-7
63,292
15 December 14 at Baltimore W 24–14 8-7
30,564
16 December 20 NY Jets L 24–17 8-8
41,854

Game Summaries[]

Week 11: vs. San Francisco 49ers[]

Week 11: San Francisco 49ers at Miami Dolphins;– Game summary
1 2 3 4 Total
49ers 7 0 6 0 13
Dolphins 3 7 7 0 17

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

Game information
First quarter
  • MIA – Uwe von Schamann 21 yard field goal, Dolphins 3-0.
  • SF – Earl Cooper 1 yard rush, (Ray Wersching kick), 49ers 7-3.

Second quarter

  • MIA – Nat Moore 15 yard pass from David Woodley, (Uwe von Schamann kick), Dolphins 10-7.

Third quarter

  • SF – Freddie Solomon 1 yard pass from Steve DeBerg, (Ray Wersching kick), 49ers 13-10.
  • MIA – Tony Nathan 8 yard pass from David Woodley, (Uwe von Schamann kick), Dolphins 17-13.

Fourth quarter

No Scoring

Top passers

  • SF – Steve DeBerg – 29/41, 225 yards, TD, INT
  • MIA – David Woodley – 18/25, 222 yards, 2 TDs, INT

Top rushers

  • SF – Don Woods - 6 rushes, 16 yards
  • MIA – Delvin Williams – 14 rushes, 69 yards

Top receivers

  • SF – Dwight Clark - 7 receptions, 72 yards
  • MIA – Jimmy Cefalo - 3 receptions, 83 yards

Standings[]

AFC East
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Buffalo Bills 11 5 0 .688 320 260
New England Patriots 10 6 0 .625 441 325
Miami Dolphins 8 8 0 .500 266 305
Baltimore Colts 7 9 0 .438 355 387
New York Jets 4 12 0 .250 302 395

Notes and references[]

  1. "Payton tops salary list of NFL players", Schenectady Gazette, February 13, 1981, p. 29. 
  2. 1980 Miami Dolphins draftees. Pro-Football-Reference.com.