Larry Csonka Put a Live Alligator in Don Shula's Shower and That's How You Build a Team

As the NFL community continues to mourn the loss of former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula, who passed away on Monday at 90 years old, brilliant stories of his prime coaching days have began surfacing.

First, Shula's merciless nickname for Bill Belichick, which referenced his polarizing cheating background, was leaked.

Now, Hall of Fame running back Larry Csonka, who played under Shula for five seasons in Miami, recalled a point in time where he and teammate Manny Fernandez hid a live alligator in Shula's shower.

If you're asking us, that's precisely how you improve team chemistry.

While remembering Shula on a Zoom call with NFL reporters, Csonka told the story of Fernandez catching a three-foot alligator with his bare hands (!) during a fishing trip. What made the highly-dangerous prank so great was the fact that Shula, at least according to Csonka, appreciated their efforts.

"The great thing about Shula, on a thing like the alligator, he had a good sense of humor and he appreciated that and he had a good laugh about it," said the five-time Pro Bowler.

How was Shula so cool with this? Any other human on earth would be mortified to see a dead prehistoric killing machine lying in their shower. The fact that it was alive and the two-time Super Bowl champion didn't bat an eyelash says everything about the lengths he would go to establish a relationship with his players.