Closing Shot: Don Shula’s Lasting Legacy

Don Shula initially resisted the idea of putting his name on a restaurant. But after doing so, sales rose significantly and more restaurants opened across several states.ap images

Don Shula didn’t invent coaching football, and he didn’t invent the concept of a sportsman putting his name on a restaurant. He just did both better than almost anyone.

Shula died last week at age 90. He was eulogized as the winningest coach in NFL history and a beloved leader of football players for nearly 40 years. But his signature off-the-field contribution defied the odds to reach an uncommon level of success, too.

In a cutthroat industry littered with failed athlete-fronted eateries, Don Shula’s Steak Houses Inc., later the Shula’s Restaurant Group, grew and diversified into a national chain that had 36 locations at its peak.

As a licensor and equity owner in some locations, Shula mostly left operations to experts. But he appeared at openings well into the 2010s, advised on locations and menu items, and famously suggested early on that the menu be printed on a football.

His biggest contribution was his name. Decades of winning, old-school stoicism with just a hint of wry humor, and virtually zero reputation risk — a scandal never came close to Shula in his six decades of public life — made that invaluable.

It started in 1989, when two years of lobbying by the Graham family convinced Shula to license his name to their Legends restaurant in Miami Gardens. Photos and memorabilia reminding diners about Shula’s greatness and happy times for the Dolphins were installed.

The business responded immediately.

“I resisted for quite a while,” Shula said in a 2012 interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “We tried it, and the sales jumped immediately about four times what it was. I said ‘This is not a bad deal.’”

The concept never strayed far from Shula’s football legacy. The original steakhouse was adorned with black-and-white pictures of the ’72 perfect season, and chairs had brass nameplates of the 53 players and seven coaches on that team.

By 1997, six more locations had opened, including three under new concepts aimed at different markets, including Shula’s 347 Grill, a nod to his win total.

That year, his son David, the former coach of the Cincinnati Bengals, began helping to run the chain. Massive growth followed, with more concepts and franchises popping up in many states over the next 15 years.

Locations started to close late last decade, and today there are 21. In early 2019, Shula’s wife, Mary Anne, stepped down as CEO and four new senior executives were hired to engineer a brand refresh. The football menus went away, and the white tablecloth scene changed in an attempt to keep up with the trendy dining industry.

But the Shula name still remains. Just as in football, that appears to be timeless.