Former Dolphins Player Explains Why Don Shula Didn't Like Bill Belichick: He Called Him 'Beli-Cheat'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history, passed away Monday at the age of 90. He racked up 347 total wins over his 31 NFL seasons, and he's famous for saying he notched every one of those while playing by the rules.
So you can understand why the NFL great doesn't like those who may occasionally skirt those rules. That's why he was never a big fan of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who has always been extremely complimentary of the head coaching legend.
Former Dolphins player Dick Anderson, who played for Shula from 1968-1978 and won a pair of Super Bowls as a Dolphins safety, revealed a pretty unflattering nickname that Shula had for Belichick during a Monday night interview on CBS Sports Radio's The DA Show.
"He called Belichick 'Beli-cheat,'" said Anderson. "He was straightforward. He was, 'This is how we gotta do it, these are the rules, and this is what we're going to follow.' He didn't like, I think, people that didn't follow the rules – and he did."
This isn't anything new, really. Shula has called Belichick that name before, with the first time coming back in 2007. Shula -- the only coach to lead a team to a perfect season -- is famous for saying that the Spygate scandal "diminished" New England quest for a perfect season in 2007, though he later backtracked that statement. He also took a dig at New England during the Deflategate saga, saying his teams never deflated any footballs. The legend never passed up a chance to take a dig at Belichick.
And his disdain for the Patriots isn't just with Belichick. He's had it in for the franchise ever since the famous "Snow Plow Game" at Schaefer Stadium in 1982. He often said his win total should be 348 because of that game, which the Patriots won 3-0.
Belichick was very complimentary to Shula in the statement he released after Shula's passing on Monday, but it's pretty clear Shula didn't feel the same way about Belichick.
