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BY IRA KAUFMAN

A quarter-century has passed since I had the honor of chowing down with the winningest coach in NFL history.

It seems like yesterday.

I can still see Don Shula walking into the dining room of his just-opened Shula’s Steak House on Tampa’s Westshore Boulevard, looking fresh and relaxed in a blue blazer. He motioned me to a nearby table and asked what I wanted to drink before lunch was served.

That was quintessential Shula — harping on the details.

Don Shula died today. He was 90.

Despite winning four Coach of the Year awards and sitting alone atop the career win list, Shula might be a little underrated in the Hall of Fame pantheon. Some would rank Vince Lombardi, Paul Brown, Bill Belichick, Bill Walsh and Joe Gibbs ahead of him, but that’s a tough call.

Nobody before or since in the league’s 100-year history orchestrated a perfect season. During Shula’s 26 years with the Dolphins, Miami’s .657 winning percentage was the best in all of the major sports.

“I used to watch them in practice and Don was very demanding,” Bruce Arians told me on Monday. “He had a great way with his players.”

Shula was so proud of that 1972 team, accomplished in only his third year in Miami.

Chucky Wasn’t First

Coming off a 3-10-1 mark in 1969, the Dolphins were so obsessed with landing Shula that they gave up a first-round draft pick to pry him out of Baltimore.

The turnaround was immediate as the 1970 Dolphins won 10 games. So much for easing into success. The next year, they upset the Chiefs on Christmas Day, an overtime playoff win on the road that remains the longest game in NFL history.

That victory for the ages set the stage for the perfect season, but I had the audacity to suggest to Shula that the 1973 team was even better. I pointed to Miami’s combined 85-33 margin of victory in the postseason, averaging 234 yards on the ground against the Bengals, Raiders and Vikings.

Bruce Arians talked to Ira about Don Shula

Shula wouldn’t go there. He said you can’t beat perfection and I was too busy devouring a couple of crab cakes to argue the point.

“You set a goal to be the best and then you work hard every hour of the day striving to reach that goal,” he said. “If you allow yourself to settle for anything less than the No. 1, you are cheating yourself.”

It was Shula’s flexibility that set him apart.

The ’73 Dolphins, powered by Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris, threw 256 passes and ran 507 times in 14 games. Flash forward to 1984, with Dan Marino under center. That team represented the AFC in the Super Bowl after throwing 572 times and attempting 484 runs in 16 games.

“The man adapted to his players,” Arians said. “And the one constant was he always had a defense.”

Trademark Discipline

Another constant was Miami usually was flagged for the fewest penalties in the league. That’s a tribute to Shula’s attention to detail and discipline, but some fellow coaches thought Shula also got the benefit of the doubt from officials who duly noted he was on the Competition Committee.

Like Lombardi, Shula could be a hard-ass. If you were a foot off in your stance, you heard about it in practice. If you dropped the football, you’d get the look.

“He was tough when he had to be,” said Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey, who played for Shula in Baltimore. “But the most important thing was he treated us like men.”

You should have seen Shula prowling every nook and cranny of his Tampa restaurant. He wanted the floors swept clean, the napkins folded properly and the utensils placed on the table just so.

Like the days when he was prowling the practice field, Shula saw everything. Nothing got past the man — including immortality.

Ira Kaufman’s column is presented by Bill Currie Ford, where the stunning offers and 0% interest rates are waiting for you. Click on Ira to visit BillCurrieFord.com, where GM Sean Sullivan will help you personally.