1976 Miami Dolphins season

11th season in franchise history December 2013 March 2026 Miami Dolphins 1976 6–8 3rd AFC East Don Shula Orange Bowl Did not qualify 4 QB Bob Griese G Bob Kuechenberg C Jim Langer PR/KR Nat Moore Dolphins seasons 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 10–4 record, winning only six games.1976 Miami Dolphins 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. The Dolphins would not have another losing season until the 1988 Season. Offseason 1976 expansion draft 1976 NFL expansion draft + Miami Dolphins selected during the expansion draft Round Overall Name Position Expansion team00Bruce EliaLinebackerTampa Bay Buccaneers00Norm EvansOffensive tackleSeattle Seahawks00Doug SwiftLinebackerTampa Bay Buccaneers NFL draft 1976 NFL draft 1976 Miami Dolphins 1 17 Larry Gordon Linebacker Arizona State yes 1 19 Kim Bokamper Defensive end San Jose State yes yes 2 49 Loaird McCreary Tight end Tennessee State yes 3 80 Duriel Harris Wide receiver New Mexico State yes 4 98 Melvin Mitchell Guard Tennessee State yes 6 174 Gary Davis Running back Cal Poly-SLO yes 7 185 Joe Ingersoll Guard UNLV 7 200 John Owens Defensive end Tennessee State 8 230 Bob Simpson Defensive end Colorado 9 257 Norris Thomas Defensive back Southern Miss yes 10 281 Gary Fencik Safety Yale yes 10 282 Don Testerman Running back Clemson 11 312 Dexter Pride Running back Minnesota 12 339 Randy Young Tackle Iowa State 12 342 Darryl Brandford Defensive tackle Northwestern 13 366 Bernie Head Center Tulsa 14 396 Bob Gissler Linebacker South Dakota State 15 423 Ron Holmes Running back Utah State 16 450 Mike Green Punter Ohio 17 480 Jeff Grantz Quarterback South Carolina no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/1976_draft.htm 1976 Miami Dolphins draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 18, 2014 Personnel Coaches / Staff 1976 Miami Dolphins President – Joe Robbie Vice President – Don Shula Director of Player Personnel – Bobby Beathard Head Coach – Don Shula Offense/Receivers/Passing Game – Howard Schnellenberger Offensive Backs – Carl Taseff Offensive Line/Running Game – John Sandusky Assistant Head Coach/Defense – Bill Arnsparger Defensive Line/Run Defense – Mike Scarry Linebackers/Pass Defense – Don Doll Defensive Backs – Tom Keane Special Teams – Carl Taseff Punting – Tom Keane None - N/A Roster 1976 Miami Dolphins 12 Bob Griese 15 Earl Morrall 10 Don Strock 31 Norm Bulaich 27 Gary Davis American football y 35 Clayton Heath 32 Benny Malone 36 Don Nottingham 33 Stan Winfrey 26 Duriel Harris y 82 Ike Hill 86 Freddie Solomon 88 Jim Mandich 80 Loaird McCreary y 87 Andre Tillman 71 Darryl Carlton T 78 Tom Drougas T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 62 Jim Langer C 66 Larry Little G/T 68 Melvin Mitchell y T 79 Wayne Moore American football G 64 Ed Newman G 65 Wally Pesuit y G/T 70 John Andrews DE 74 Randy Crowder DT 83 Vern Den Herder DE 72 Bob Heinz DT 60 Don Reese DT 84 Bill Stanfill DE 85 Nick Buoniconti MLB 51 Rusty Chambers OLB 50 Larry Gordon American football y OLB 53 Bob Matheson OLB 56 Steve Towle MLB 40 Dick Anderson SS 49 Charlie Babb SS 46 Ted Bachman y CB 48 Ken Ellis American football CB/FS 45 Curtis Johnson cornerback CB 41 Jeris White CB 20 Larry Seiple P  1 Garo Yepremian K 58 Kim Bokamper y LB IR 75 Manny Fernandez American football DT IR 25 Tim Foley defensive back CB IR 44 Barry Hill American football S IR 43 Mike Holmes wide receiver WR IR 57 Mike Kolen LB IR 89 Nat Moore WR IR 55 Earnie Rhone LB IR 81 Howard Twilley WR IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 13, 1976 at Buffalo Bills W 30–21 1–0 Rich Stadium 77,683 2 September 19 at New England Patriots L 14–30 1–1 Schaefer Stadium 46,053 3 September 26 New York Jets W 16–0 2–1 Miami Orange Bowl 49,754 4 October 3 Los Angeles Rams L 28–31 2–2 Miami Orange Bowl 60,753 5 October 10 at Baltimore Colts L 14–28 2–3 Memorial Stadium 58,832 6 October 17 Kansas City Chiefs L 17–20 (OT) 2–4 Miami Orange Bowl 43,325 7 October 24 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–20 3–4 Tampa Stadium 61,437 8 October 31 New England Patriots W 10–3 4–4 Miami Orange Bowl 52,863 9 November 7 at New York Jets W 27–7 5–4 Shea Stadium 53,344 10 November 14 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–14 5–5 Three Rivers Stadium 48,945 11 November 22, 1976 Baltimore Colts L 16–17 5–6 Miami Orange Bowl 62,104 12 November 28 at Cleveland Browns L 13–17 5–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,715 13 December 5 Buffalo Bills W 45–27 6–7 Miami Orange Bowl 43,475 14 December 11, 1976 Minnesota Vikings L 7–29 6–8 Miami Orange Bowl 46,543 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings References External links 1976 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com Category:Miami Dolphins seasons Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins Category:1970s in Miami