History regards some people as successful in their line of work, or in their industry. Or for reaching a certain level of achievement in sports or the arts. But some people – a very rare few – can truly be called successes at life.

Don Shula, the winningest NFL coach of all time, was one of those people. He passed away Monday at age 90,according to the Miami Herald.

BREAKING: Don Shula, the winningest coach in pro football history, has died at age 90, the Miami Dolphins say. https://t.co/zxRo70dw8U

— The Associated Press (@AP) May 4, 2020

And there was a message of condolence from the team Shula was most associated with, the Miami Dolphins:

The Miami Dolphins are saddened to announce that Head Coach Don Shula passed away peacefully at his home this morning. pic.twitter.com/MKAtXFA4zd

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) May 4, 2020

To get some insight into what made Shula’s time in the NFL so notable (beyond the 347 wins), I spoke with a football expert, George Templeton, a Floridian and co-host on ProFootballNetwork.com podcast, “Against the Spread.” [Full disclosure: Templeton is a friend of mine.] He said that one thing that surprised him, looking at Shula’s background, was that he spent time as a pro player. When he was with the Colts, they weren’t a good team, but “not too far away from being very good.” Though, he cautions, the Washington Redskins team a young Shula played for was “terrible, even abysmal.”

He shared some of the other highlights and lowlights of Shula’s coaching career:

When Shula was hired as head coach of the Baltimore Colts in 1963, he was 33 years old — and held that record as the youngest NFL coach until 1969, when John Madden became a coach at 32 years 10 months old. An interesting side note on that: Don Shula’s son, Dave, was hired as the Cincinnati Bengals’ head coach at 32 years 7 months old. It must run in the family!

Shula held a special distinction: he was named AP’s Coach of the Year four times — one of those years was the perfect season in 1972:

Rest easy, Coach. #foreverperfect pic.twitter.com/NyXi5waOaR

— Steven Sather (@StevenSather75) May 4, 2020

In 1969, Super Bowl III featured a match-up of  a Shula-coached Baltimore Colts versus an underdog New York Jets team. Jets QB Joe Namath famously “guaranteed” his team would win. The rest is history.

This Day In 1969: 18-point underdog Jets beat Colts in Super Bowl III, Joe Namath’s guarantee fulfilled. pic.twitter.com/C42gNV0ROV

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) January 12, 2018

Before he coached the Colts, Shula spent three years on someone else’s coaching staff. I think that shows the kind of person Shula was. That would take humility. He worked as the Detroit Lions’ defensive coordinator from 1960-62 — and Templeton said those were “some of the most successful years for the team.”

To sum things up, Templeton said it was Shula’s “consistency of winning” — a stellar example of excellence that I think reaches far beyond the world of sports, which anyone can take as an example. Get a load of these statistics: In 33 years, Shula’s teams only had two – TWO – losing seasons. And over a fourteen year span, teams coached by Don Shula won 10 games out of a 14-game season. That’s the definition of consistency of effort, leading to success in life.

But one aspect of Shula’s life that many people may not know about is that he served in the military.

Legendary coach Don Shula dead at 90: He was NFL's winningest coach and National Guard vet https://t.co/xypjbBZZb2 pic.twitter.com/1jZWbJMOvr

— American Military News (@AmerMilNews) May 4, 2020

As American Military News reports,

Shortly after his football career began, it was interrupted by an 11-month period of service in the Ohio National Guard when his unit was activated during the Korean War.

Of course, most Americans know that Don Shula was a great football coach. But when people tell stories like this one, you’re not just a great coach –you’re a good man.

On NFL Network I heard about the story where his players brought him the Oakland Raiders playbook that had accidentally been left in the locker room. Rather than use it to win their next game, Don Shula told them to throw it out.

He was the greatest NFL coach ever.

— Michael Siciliano (@Tuvulu2U) May 4, 2020

Michael Siciliano wrote:

“On NFL Network, I heard about the story where his players brought him the Oakland Raiders playbook that has accidentally been left in the locker room. Rather than use it to win their next game, Don Shula told them to throw it out. He was the greatest NFL coach ever.”

You can’t say it any better than that.

R.I.P., Coach Shula.

Editor’s note: this article was edited for clarity after publication. One error was corrected: Shula acted as an assistant coach with the Lion during his career, not after retirement. We regret the error.