1980 Miami Dolphins season

1980 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach	Don Shula
Home field	Orange Bowl
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
← 1979 Dolphins seasons 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]

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 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 – Steve Crosby, Carl Taseff Punting – Tom Keane

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 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 38 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 60 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 66 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 56 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 44 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 28 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 37 IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- IRTooltip Injured reserve) 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

.

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

. 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

.

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

Game information

First quarter No scoring Second quarter BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 40-yard field goal. Bills 3–0. Third quarter MIA – Tony Nathan 4-yard pass from Bob Griese (Uwe von Schamann kick). Dolphins 7–3. Fourth quarter BUF – Roosevelt Leaks 4-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 10–7. BUF – Joe Cribbs 2-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 17–7. Top passers MIA – Bob Griese – 11/18, 101 yards, TD, 2 INT BUF – Joe Ferguson – 20/32, 198 yards, TD, 5 INT Top rushers MIA – Steve Howell – 6 rushes, 43 yards BUF – Joe Cribbs – 18 rushes, 60 yards, TD Top receivers MIA – Duriel Harris – 3 receptions, 42 yards BUF – Joe Cribbs – 9 receptions, 71 yards