1989 Miami Dolphins season

1989 Miami Dolphins season
1989 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach	Don Shula
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
	← 1988; Dolphins seasons; 1990 →;

The 1989 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 24th as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's 6–10 W-L record, winning eight games.^[1] Despite this improvement they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, tying the longest such record in franchise history when the Dolphins failed to make the playoffs from 1966 to 1969. This was also the longest such record for coach Don Shula in his NFL career.

Shortly after the season ended, Miami Dolphins founder Joe Robbie died on January 7, 1990, at the age of 73.^[2]

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1989 Miami Dolphins staff**

	Front office President – Joe Robbie Executive Vice President/General Manager – Mike Robbie Vice President – Don Shula Vice President of Administration and Finance – Eddie Jones Director of Pro Personnel – Charley Winner Director of College Scouting – Tom Heckert, Sr. Head coaches Head Coach – Don Shula Assistant Head Coach – John Sandusky Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Pass Offense – Gary Stevens Offensive Backs – Carl Taseff Receivers – Larry Seiple Offensive Line – John Sandusky Assistant Offensive Line – Mike Westhoff Coaches' Assistant – Tony Nathan			Defensive coaches Defense – Tom Olivadotti Defensive Line – Dan Sekanovich Linebackers – George Hill Defensive Backs – Mel Phillips Special teams coaches Special Teams – Mike Westhoff Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Junior Wade

Roster[]

**1989 Miami Dolphins roster**

	Quarterbacks 13 Dan Marino 9 Scott Secules 18 Cliff Stoudt Running backs 36 Tom Brown FB 30 Ron Davenport FB 27 Lorenzo Hampton 20 Marc Logan KR 23 Troy Stradford Wide receivers 86 Fred Banks 82 Andre Brown 83 Mark Clayton 85 Mark Duper 11 Jim Jensen Tight ends 80 Ferrell Edmunds 84 Bruce Hardy 88 Brian Kinchen		Offensive linemen 77 Louis Cheek T 65 Jeff Dellenbach T 61 Roy Foster G 62 Harry Galbreath G 72 Ronnie Lee G/T 78 Alvin Powell G 76 Tom Toth G 63 Jeff Uhlenhake C Defensive linemen 97 John Bosa DE 98 Jackie Cline DE 91 Jeff Cross DE 69 Mike Lambrecht NT 70 Brian Sochia NT 95 T. J. Turner DE		Linebackers 50 Dave Ahrens 51 Greg Clark ILB 53 David Frye LB 99 Rick Graf 55 Hugh Green OLB 54 E. J. Junior 55 Barry Krauss 90 Eric Kumerow OLB Defensive backs 37 J. B. Brown CB 42 Ernest Gibson CB 29 Liffort Hobley FS 49 William Judson CB 44 Paul Lankford CB 25 Louis Oliver FS 24 CB 26 Jarvis Williams SS Special teams 4 Reggie Roby P 10 Pete Stoyanovich K		Reserve lists 59 Bob Brudzinski OLB (IR) 74 Mark Dennis T (IR) 41 African Grant DB (IR) 28 Don McNeal CB (IR) 56 John Offerdahl ILB 81 Scott Schwedes WR (IR) 33 Sammie Smith RB 79 T Practice squad —- Jay Gruden QB 89 Tony Martin WR 71 T 60 Bert Weidner C/G Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 10, 1989	Buffalo Bills	L 27–24	54,541
2	September 17, 1989	at New England Patriots	W 24–10	57,043
3	September 24, 1989	New York Jets	L 40–33	65,908
4	October 1, 1989	at Houston Oilers	L 39–7	53,326
5	October 8, 1989	Cleveland Browns	W 13–10 (OT)	58,444
6	October 15, 1989	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–13	58,184
7	October 22, 1989	Green Bay Packers	W 23–20	56,624
8	October 29, 1989	at Buffalo Bills	L 31–17	80,208
9	November 5, 1989	Indianapolis Colts	W 19–13	52,680
10	November 12, 1989	at New York Jets	W 31–23	65,923
11	November 19, 1989	at Dallas Cowboys	W 17–14	56,044
12	November 26, 1989	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 34–14	59,936
13	December 3, 1989	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 26–21	54,610
14	December 10, 1989	New England Patriots	W 31–10	55,918
15	December 17, 1989	at Indianapolis Colts	L 42–13	55,665
16	December 24, 1989	Kansas City Chiefs	L 27–24	43,612

Standings[]

AFC East
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Buffalo Bills⁽³⁾	9	7	0	.563	6–2	8–4	409	317	W1
Indianapolis Colts	8	8	0	.500	4–4	7–5	298	301	L1
Miami Dolphins	8	8	0	.500	4–4	6–8	331	379	L2
New England Patriots	5	11	0	.313	4–4	5–7	297	391	L3
New York Jets	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–9	253	411	L3

Season summary[]

Week 1[]

Week One: Buffalo Bills (0–0) at Miami Dolphins (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	3	0	10	14	27
Dolphins	0	10	7	7	24

at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami, Florida

Date: September 10, 1989
Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 83 °F (28 °C)
Game attendance: 54,541
Pro-Football-Reference.com, The Football Database

Game information

First quarter

BUF – Scott Norwood 34 yard field goal, 2:34. Bills 3–0. Drive:

Second quarter

MIA – Troy Stradford 1-yard run (Pete Stoyanovich kick), 8:48. Dolphins 7–3. Drive:
MIA – Pete Stoyanovich 29-yard field goal, 0:03. Dolphins 10–3. Drive:

Third quarter

BUF – Larry Kinnebrew 2-yard run (Scott Norwood kick), 11:58. Tie 10–10. Drive:
MIA – Marc Logan 2-yard blocked punt return (Pete Stoyanovich kick), 7:03. Dolphins 17–10. Drive:
BUF – Scott Norwood 37-yard field goal, 2:11. Dolphins 17–13. Drive:

Fourth quarter

MIA – Andre Brown 8-yard pass from Dan Marino (Pete Stoyanovich kick), 4:17. Dolphins 24–13. Drive:
BUF – Flip Johnson 26-yard pass from Jim Kelly (Scott Norwood kick), 2:50. Dolphins 24–20. Drive:
BUF – Jim Kelly 2-yard run (Scott Norwood kick), 0:00. Bills 27–24. Drive: 51 yards.

51

Top passers

BUF – Jim Kelly – 25/40, 265 yards, TD
MIA – Dan Marino – 25/38, 255 yards, TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

BUF – Thurman Thomas – 13 rushes, 94 yards
MIA – Troy Stradford – 12 rushes, 43 yards, TD

Top receivers

BUF – Thurman Thomas – 8 receptions, 65 yards
MIA – Ferrell Edmunds – 5 receptions, 58 yards

References[]

[1] 1989 Miami Dolphins

[2] Joe Robbie, Owner of Dolphins Of Pro Football, Is Dead at 73

[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