1976 Miami Dolphins season

1976 Miami Dolphins season
1976 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach	Don Shula
Home field	Orange Bowl
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
	← 1975; Dolphins seasons; 1977 →;

The 1976 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 11th, and seventh as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins failed to improve on their previous season's output of 10–4, winning only six games.^[1] One of these wins came over their new in-state rivals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — who proceeded to lose all 14 games that year. The 6–8 finish marked the first losing record of head coach Don Shula's career.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1976 Miami Dolphins draft
1	17	Larry Gordon	Linebacker	Arizona State
1	19	Kim Bokamper *	Defensive end	San Jose State
2	49	Loaird McCreary	Tight End	Tennessee State
3	80	Duriel Harris	Wide Receiver	New Mexico State
4	98	Melvin Mitchell	Guard	Tennessee State
6	174	Gary Davis	Running Back	Cal Poly-SLO
7	185	Joe Ingersoll	Guard	UNLV
7	200	John Owens	Defensive End	Tennessee State
8	230		Defensive End	Colorado
9	257	Norris Thomas	Defensive Back	Southern Miss
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1976 Miami Dolphins staff**

	Front office President – Joe Robbie Vice President – Don Shula Director of Player Personnel – Bobby Beathard Head coaches Head Coach – Don Shula Offensive coaches Offense/Receivers/Passing Game – Howard Schnellenberger Offensive Backs – Carl Taseff Offensive Line/Running Game – John Sandusky			Defensive coaches Assistant Head Coach/Defense – Bill Arnsparger Defensive Line/Run Defense – Mike Scarry Linebackers/Pass Defense – Don Doll Defensive Backs – Tom Keane Special teams coaches Special Teams – Carl Taseff Punting – Tom Keane

Roster[]

**1976 Miami Dolphins roster**

	Quarterbacks 12 Bob Griese 15 Earl Morrall 10 Don Strock Running backs 32 Benny Malone 36 Don Nottingham FB 31 Norm Bulaich FB 27 Gary Davis 35 Clayton Heath 33 Stan Winfrey FB Wide receivers 89 Nat Moore 86 Freddie Solomon 26 Duriel Harris 82 Ike Hill 43 Mike Holmes 82 Morris Owens 81 Howard Twilley Tight ends 87 Andre Tillman 88 Jim Mandich 80 Loaird McCreary		Offensive linemen 79 Wayne Moore T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 62 Jim Langer C 66 Larry Little G 71 Darryl Carlton T 78 Tom Drougas T 68 T 64 Ed Newman G 65 Wally Pesuit G Defensive linemen 83 Vern Den Herder DE 74 Randy Crowder DT 60 Don Reese DT 84 Bill Stanfill DE 70 John "Tiny" Andrews DE 72 Bob Heinz DT		Linebackers 50 Larry Gordon LLB 56 Steve Towle MLB 53 Bob Matheson RLB 85 Nick Buoniconti 51 Rusty Chambers 51 Mike Dennery 51 Andy Selfridge Defensive backs 41 Jeris White CB 45 Curtis Johnson CB 49 Charlie Babb SS 44 Barry Hill FS 40 Dick Anderson S 47 CB 48 Ken Ellis CB 25 Tim Foley CB 30 Bryant Salter FS Special teams 1 Garo Yepremian K 20 Larry Seiple P		Reserve lists 58 Kim Bokamper LOLB (IR) 55 Earnest Rhone LB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 13	at Buffalo Bills	W 30–21	77,683
2	September 19	at New England Patriots	L 14–30	46,053
3	September 26	New York Jets	W 16–0	49,754
4	October 3	Los Angeles Rams	L 28–31	60,753
5	October 10	at Baltimore Colts	L 14–28	58,832
6	October 17	Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–20	43,325
7	October 24	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 23–20	61,437
8	October 31	New England Patriots	W 10–3	52,863
9	November 7	at New York Jets	W 27–7	53,344
10	November 14	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 3–14	48,945
11	November 22	Baltimore Colts	L 16–17	62,104
12	November 28	at Cleveland Browns	L 13–17	74,715
13	December 5	Buffalo Bills	W 45–27	43,475
14	December 11	Minnesota Vikings	L 7–29	46,543

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings[]

AFC East
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts⁽²⁾	11	3	0	.786	7–1	11–1	417	246	W1
New England Patriots⁽⁴⁾	11	3	0	.786	6–2	10–2	376	236	W6
Miami Dolphins	6	8	0	.429	5–3	6–6	263	264	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	3–9	169	383	L4
Buffalo Bills	2	12	0	.143	0–8	2–10	245	363	L10

References[]

^ 1976 Miami Dolphins
^ "1976 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.

External links[]

1976 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com

[1] 1976 Miami Dolphins

[2] "1976 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.

[1]

[2]

v t Miami Dolphins
Founded in 1966 Based in Miami Gardens, Florida Headquartered in Davie, Florida
Franchise	Franchise History Seasons Coaches Players First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Records Awards Honor roll Training facility Broadcasters
Stadiums	Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium
Culture	"Fins" (Jimmy Buffett song) Wayne Huizenga Stephen M. Ross Joe Robbie T. D. Cheerleaders Ace Ventura: Pet Detective "Only Wanna Be with You" (Hootie & the Blowfish song) Ballers
Lore	Perfect season The Sea of Hands Announcerless game Epic in Miami Snowplow Game Clock Play Monday Night Miracle Miracle in Miami
Rivalries	Buffalo Bills Las Vegas Raiders New England Patriots New York Jets Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Division championships (13)	1971 1972 1973 1974 1979 1981 1983 1984 1985 1992 1994 2000 2008
Conference championships (5)	1971 1972 1973 1982 1984
League championships (2)	1972 (VII) 1973 (VIII)
Retired numbers	12 13 39
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: East Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1966–1969)

v t Miami Dolphins seasons
1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Bold indicates Super Bowl victory Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance