1980 Miami Dolphins

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.

Offseason

NFL Draft

• Main article: 1980 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:

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 Date: November 16 Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/10:00 a.m. PST Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C) TV: CBS Pro Football Reference 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

• Miami Dolphins on Pro Football Reference
• Miami Dolphins on jt-sw.com