Uwe von Schamann: Playing for Don Shula was 'a Lot Different Than Playing for Switzer'

One of just 11 Sooners who went on to play for Don Shula, Uwe von Schamann had six seasons under the NFL's winningest coach, who died Monday at age 90.

Uwe von Schamann says he didn’t have a whole lot of interaction with Don Shula when the two were lighting up scoreboards for the Miami Dolphins.

But toward the end of the 1983 season, von Schamann got an important question from the venerable head coach.

“Shula said, ‘Who do you want to hold (for placekicks)?’ ” said the former Oklahoma kicker. “And I said, ‘Not that Dan Marino.’ He was horrible.”

Laces out, Dan.

Von Schamann picked the right guy — veteran perfectionist Don Strock — and so did Shula when he eventually handed the Dolphins’ starting quarterback job to Marino.

Von Schamann remembered his old NFL coach on Monday as a strict disciplinarian who had an attention for detail and not much time for kickers.

Don Shula's impact stretched from South Florida to the sport of football itself. https://t.co/ZqsNIbQS1I

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) May 4, 2020

Shula, the NFL’s winningest coach with 347 career victories and the architect of the only perfect season in NFL history, died Monday at the age of 90. Von Schamann was one of 11 former Sooners who played in the NFL for Shula, and he’s the one with the longest tenure, six years.

“It was a lot different than playing for coach (Barry) Switzer, that’s for sure,” von Schamann told SI Sooners. “I went from a player’s coach to an old-school coach, very strict. Couldn’t get away with a lot of stuff you could at OU.”

A frequently used team tactic from bygone eras was to hold players accountable for their weight. It was often written into contracts. Many times, players who battled the bulge would cut weight before or during training camp, step on the scale to get paid, then let themselves go during the season.

That didn’t happen on Shula’s watch.

“Shula was old-school. He demanded a lot. He liked to fine players — for anything,” Von Schamann said. “Every Thursday morning, we had weigh-in. We actually had to get on a scale, and if we were over the weight they had prescribed us after training camp, you would get fined. So that was always interesting, guys always trying to get down to their weight. He was really into fines.”

Von Schamann also remembers Strock, the consummate backup quarterback who played 15 NFL seasons and passed for just 5,349 yards and 45 touchdowns (Marino threw for 5,084 and 48 during the 1984 season alone), always being by Shula’s side.

“That was my holder,” von Schamann said, “and he was always right next to him and would always explain to him the down and distance and this and that. And so during the game, he would get a little flustered. But as far as preparing the team, he was amazing. He was really amazing. Paid attention to a lot of details.”

Von Schamann also found himself frequently standing next to Shula during games.

“He always wanted to make sure when we got in field goal range that I’d be right behind him, telling him exactly how far it was,” von Schamann said. “He was a great coach preparing the team.”

Von Schamann kicked for the Dolphins from 1979-84 — he was a seventh-round pick out of Oklahoma, two years after “conducting” Ohio State fans’ chants of “block that kick” in Columbus — so he came well after Miami ran the table with a perfect 14-0 regular season and 14-7 victory in Super Bowl VII.

During von Schamann’s tenure, the Dolphins went 10-6, 8-8, 11-4-1, 7-2, 12-4 and 14-2 — a .702 winning percentage, with five AFC East championships — but, fueled by Marino’s magical 1984 season, their best postseason run ended with a 38-16 loss to San Francisco in Super Bowl XIX in 1985.

That pursuit of perfection never left Shula, von Schamann said.

“I remember some wins we had, it felt like we lost,” von Schamann said. “You know what I’m saying? Like, ‘Good win,’ but he didn’t like certain things that happened during the game. So yeah, there were definitely some wins we felt like we lost the game because he was such a perfectionist.”

Von Schamann kicked behind three different Dolphins quarterbacks: Bob Griese (1979), David Woodley (1980-82) and Marino (1983-84). In Marino's second year, von Schamann set the NFL record for most PAT kicks.

“To watch Marino, that rookie year? Wow,” von Schamann said. “I remember he didn’t start right away, so he tried out for holder in the preseason.

“But Strock was kind of that guy. I think he was there maybe (14) years. And he never gave me a bad hold. Not even in practice.

“Yeah. Don Shula was something else.”

Shula’s Sooners

Uwe von Schamann is one of just 11 former Sooners who played for legendary NFL coach Don Shula, who died Monday at age 90.

Baltimore Colts

• Bobby Boyd (1963-68)
• Joe Don Looney (1964)
• Eddie Hinton (1969)
  

Miami Dolphins

• Jim Riley (1970-71)
• Uwe von Schamann (1979-84)
• David Overstreet (1983)
• Jackie Shipp (1984-88)
• Louis Oubre (1987)
• Greg Johnson (1988)
• Keith Jackson (1992-94)
• Aubrey Beavers (1994-95)