Major honours
An AFL expansion club in 1966, Miami under Don Shula achieved what football has seen only once: 14–0 in the regular season plus three playoff wins for a 17–0 mark in 1972. Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris became the first teammates with 1,000 rushing yards each that year; the anonymous defence was the 'No-Name Defense.' They repeated with Super Bowl VIII. Dan Marino, drafted in 1983, threw for 5,084 yards and 48 touchdowns in 1984 — both records then — and finished with 61,361 career yards but never a ring. Shula's 347 wins remain the NFL coaching record; from 2000 through 2024–25 the Dolphins had no playoff win.
Record comparison
Bars are scaled to the strongest team in this list.
Club legends
Rivalry
New England in the AFC East flipped entirely — Dolphins ruled the 1970s, Patriots the 2000s onward. December home games in Miami heat long punished northern visitors.