Shula vs Lombardi must have been something back in the day.
I saw Lombardi and Shula on the sidelines at the Detroit Lions’ Tiger stadium as a kid.
Though the represented the opposing team we had tremendous respect for the both of them because unlike Detroit, they coached not only Superbowl teams but teams that consistently did something Detroit never did...win!
They never really played against each other at their peaks.
Lombardi coached from 1959 to 1969, and his last great team was the 1967 Packers. He retired for a year, then coached the Redskins in 1969 before dying of cancer.
Shula started coaching in 1963 and really hit his stride shortly after Lombardi retired. They met once in the playoffs, Lombardi won. Shula was coaching the Colts.
Fun note: Shula actually built two Super Bowl teams. He built the Baltimore Colts, but when the Colts lost to the Jets in the Super Bowl, he went to Miami. Don McAfferty won the Super Bowl the next year with Shula's players, but the team fell apart. It was similar to Switzer winning a Super Bowl with Jimmy Johnson's players, Shula vs Chuck Noll was interesting, but Shula's Dolphins got good right before the World Football League started, and he lost a lot of key players to them. Noll's Steelers got good right after the WFL collapsed, so he was able to maintain his players, creating the 1970s dynasty.