Dolphins 'Perfect' Starting Linebacker Kolen Dies at 76

Kolen started on Miami's Super Bowl teams of the 1970s

Mke Kolen / Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Kolen, who became a starter for the Miami Dolphins Super Bowl defenses of the 1970s after arriving as a 12th-round draft pick, died Wednesday at the age of 76.

Kolen, who was nicknamed "Captain Crunch" for his physical style, started 14 games as a rookie in 1970 after being drafted out of Auburn and later made up one-third of the Dolphins' starting linebacker unit with Nick Buoniconti and Doug Swift for the 1972 Dolphins, the only team in NFL history to go through the regular season and playoffs without a loss or tie.

Kolen played 84 games with 78 starts over eight seasons for the Dolphins after he arrived as a 12th-round pick out of Auburn in the 1970 NFL draft. He finished with five career interceptions plus two more in the playoffs, one in the 1971 AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Colts and one in the 1972 AFC Championship Game victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Kolen battled injuries later in his career and never played for another team other than the Dolphins, retiring after the 1977 season.

Kolen was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.

The Mike Kolen Award is presented annually to Auburn’s leading tackler.

In 1970, Kolen became the first winner of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes College Athlete of the Year Award. He had a long association with the organization and was inducted into the FCA Hall of Champions in 2006.

KOLEN A PART OF A GREAT DOLPHINS DRAFT

Those Dolphins Super Bowl teams were built mostly through the draft, and the 1970 haul might have been the best.

It produced three-fourths of the starting secondary with Jake Scott, Tim Foley and Curtis Johnson, along with Kolen and tight end Jim Mandich after the Dolphins' first-round pick was used to acquire future Hall of Fame wide receiver Paul Warfield in a trade with the Cleveland Browns.

The 1972 Dolphins featured another all-time draft steal, defensive end Vern Den Herder, who was a 10-year starter after arriving as a 10th-round pick out of Central College in Iowa.