Bob Baumhower was at a loss for words.
Just a couple of weeks after the death of his father, Bob, the former Miami Dolphins nose guard lost a father-figure in legendary Dolphins coach Don Shula, who died peacefully at his home Monday at the age of 90.
As the football world mourned the loss of Shula, the man that led the Miami Dolphins to the only perfect season in league history, Baumhower reminisced about a man who taught him like a father and shaped his career in a way that made legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant envious.
“It was a continuation of how blessed I was to have him in my life after coach Bryant prepared me for coach Shula,” Baumhower told AL.com on Monday.
Baumhower had plans travel to Miami to spend time with Shula after the COVID-19 pandemic was under control.
“With my dad dying, I felt like I needed to go down there and tell coach Shula how much I appreciated him,” Baumhower said. “The older I got the more I appreciated him. It was an honor and privilege to play for a guy like that. I’ve had to go down to Miami for different Dolphins events over the years because of what coach Shula helped me become.”
Shula, who coached the 1972 Dolphins to a 17-0 record, surpassed George Halas’ league-record 324 victories in 1993. In addition, he turned Baumhower into an all-pro nose guard.
“Coach Shula and Mike Scarry, my position coach, asked me to play nose, and I never played it before,” Baumhower said. "That’s a not a position you grow up wanting to play. I didn’t like it. A week into training camp they knew I didn’t like it. They had a conversation with me. They said, ‘We really need you to master this position. You can be a good defensive end, but we think you can be a great nose tackle.’
"I thought about what they said. Because of who coach Shula is, I went to work. I did everything I could do to master the position. Because of coach Shula’s vision, I was the rookie of the year and had a pretty good career down there. That’s what made him such a great coach. He was real similar to coach Bryant. Coach Shula was a class act. He cared about us. He was tough.
Like Bryant, Baumhower said, Shula was a father figure. In fact, he said the two coaches talked from time to time.
“Coach Bryant told me that coach Shula putting me at nose guard was genius,” Baumhower said. “His exact words were, ‘That’s where I should have had you.’”
Like many, Baumhower was caught off guard by the news.
On Monday, the NFL world paid respects to the iconic coach.
Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.