Miami Dolphins all-time Mount Rushmore

3. Bob Griese, QB (1967-1980)

For a team that cannot seem to find a long-term answer under center as of recent, the franchise has had two all-time great quarterbacks in the past. One of those two gunslingers was Bob Griese. The second one? We will break him down later on.

Back to Griese though. The Dolphins selected him with the fourth-overall pick in the 1967 NFL Draft out of Purdue. It did not take long for him to adjust to the NFL, as he was getting starts early on in his career.

Griese made the Pro Bowl in each of his first two seasons in 1967 and 1968. In 68′ he threw for 2,473 yards with 21 touchdowns. During his first three years in the NFL, he had played well, but the team was not winning enough games.

That immediately changed when Shula became the head coach of the Dolphins in 1970. Within the first four years with Shula, Griese made three more Pro Bowls, one All-Pro team and the team won the division three times and the Super Bowl twice.

Now, Griese was unfortunately injured for most of that undefeated 1972 season. However, he threw for 1,422 yards with 17 touchdowns and only eight interceptions during the team’s second championship season in a row in 1973.

Over the span of his career, Griese was a top-five quarterback in nearly every major statistical category. His 161 games rank fourth, and his 25,092 passing yards and 192 touchdowns throws were the third-highest totals from 1967-1980.

Only Fran Tarkenton and Jim Hart had more passing yards and touchdown throws, and Griese was ahead of signal-callers such as Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw and Roger Staubach.

Griese was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990 and his 25,092 passing yards and 192 touchdowns are second-most in team history.