Bob Griese’s road to Dolphins’ lore; Where is he now?
MIAMI (BVM) –When it comes to Miami Dolphins quarterbacks from a national perspective, Dan Marino gets all of the love. And with how talented he was, that is fair.
But it is important to not forget the most accomplished signal caller in the franchise’s history: Bob Griese.
Before the NFL
Griese grew up in Evansville, Indiana, where he attended Rex Mundi High School. But Griese did not only star on the football field, he excelled in baseball and basketball as well. In fact, he was the key cog to a No. 1 ranked prep basketball team in the entire state.
After graduating high school, Griese got the chance to stay in-state at Purdue University where he played all three sports collegiately.
He was able to be a viable contributor to each Boilermaker program, but his largest impact came in football. While Griese was the team’s star quarterback, he also filled in at kicker and punter.
He served as the team’s kicker for all three seasons that he was in West Lafayette, ranking No. 8 in school history with his 66.7% field goal percentage.
But Griese did not become a Purdue legend for his kicking ability.
He wrapped up his college career as a two-time All-American and finished his last season in 1966 as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy behind Florida’s Steve Spurrier.
Griese finished his time at Purdue with a 14-13 Rose Bowl victory over USC.
He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992.
NFL career
The Miami Dolphins took Griese with the fourth pick in the 1967 draft and were instantly rewarded with competent quarterback play.
He did throw 18 interceptions as a rookie, but that was more of a result of the style of play for that era. He also eclipsed 2000 passing yards with 15 touchdowns.
While Griese’s play did not translate to the team’s success early on, everything changed in 1970 when Miami brought in Don Shula to be the new head coach.
After finishing the 1969 season with two wins, the Dolphins went 10-4 in Shula’s first season.
The next year, he got the Dolphins into the Super Bowl. Despite a 24-3 loss to the Cowboys, it was clear that Miami would be very good for a long time.
They entered the 1972 season with aspirations to return to the Super Bowl, but the team’s optimism was briefly halted when Griese broke his leg in week 5.
But Earl Morrall stepped in as his replacement and led the Dolphins to a perfect season.
Shula called Griese’s number in Miami’s second postseason game that year, and the star quarterback secured a victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers to lead them back to the Super Bowl.
Griese and fullback Larry Csonka led the Dolphins to a 14-7 Super Bowl VII victory over Washington.
It was much the same the following year when Miami repeated against the Minnesota Vikings, winning 24-7.
Griese and the Dolphins would continue to be a very good team, but would not make it back to the Super Bowl after 1973.
In 1976, the Dolphins suffered a losing season for the first time in Shula’s tenure and Griese would begin an excessive run of various injuries that limited his playing time.
He retired due to a shoulder injury in 1980.
Griese finished his career with over 25,000 passing yards with 192 touchdowns. He was a two-time First-team All-Pro and a six-time Pro Bowler.
He had his No. 12 retired by the Dolphins in 1985 and was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
Where is he now?
Griese joined NBC to call games in 1982 and after stints with them, ABC and ESPN, he retired from broadcasting in 2011.
For the most part, Griese stays out of the public eye, living with his wife in Jupiter, Florida. However, Griese did recently participate in an article about the 1972 perfect season for the Miami Herald.
While Griese is not commonly talked about today, his son still is. Brian recently was a color commentator for Monday Night Football before becoming the San Francisco 49ers’ quarterbacks coach this spring.
