He was an iconic figure...

I posted my initial thoughts in the linked BR post. I'll always wonder about his rumored interest in the ND job. His relationship w/ Fins owner J. Robbie were at a nadir about the time that Parseghian retired, but Devine, Joyce's 2d choice from 1963, was about to get terminated in GB, so Joyce made that move.

Lou Pagley, a classmate of mine who never played at ND, played in a couple of Fins preseason games while Marino and Strock both held out in '85. Pagley wrote a long article about that experience for the local paper. He made a comparison about playing for Shula and Devine that didn't favor Devine.

He coached 3 different HOF QB's (Unitas, Griese, Marino) w/ very different skill sets. Admittedly, after 3 good years to start Marino's career, their remaining 10 years together weren't as successful.

I attended 1 of his more memorable games--the epic playoff game v. SD on 1/2/82. Fins fell behind 24-0 early and came back to force OT. On final play of 1st half, down 24-10 w/ ball near midfield, he called a pass & lateral play that went for a TD. The crowd exploded in a way that I have seen few crowds ever explode.

As D. LeBatard noted, he made most every subsequent Fins HC look like a used car salesman by comparison. J. Johnson waiting in the wings had a lot to do w/ Shula's departure after '95 season. Johnson's 4 year record w/ Fins ended up not being as good as Shula's last 4 years, which were deemed to be unacceptable.

Finally, the Shula clan, which was resentful of Mike's termination at AL, got Saban's staff banned from the St. Thos. Aquinas campus for about a year or so after AL hired Saban. The irony of that was that Saban sent his daughter to STA when he coached the Fins.

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