Manny Fernandez was part of the only NFL team to accomplish a perfect season. Manny Rubio / USA Today Sports
May 26, 2026 Updated 1:14 pm EDT
Manuel “Manny” Fernandez, the defensive lineman who won two Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins, including during the team’s perfect season in 1972, has died at the age of 79, the team announced Tuesday.
No cause of death was given.
Fernandez was a key part of a legendary Miami defense that helped bring the team to three consecutive Super Bowls. He was a member of the 1972 team that did not lose a game during the regular season or the playoffs — the only team in NFL history to accomplish that feat. That year, no team scored more than 24 points in a game against Miami’s “No-Name Defense,” named for its lack of household names at the time. That group included future Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti, while stars including Bob Griese and Larry Csonka led the offense.
“His consistent and selfless contributions on the field were instrumental to the Dolphins’ success throughout the early 1970s, particularly in the team’s three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, in which he produced some of the most memorable defensive performances in the history of the game,” the Dolphins said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with his family, loved ones and teammates as we remember one of the best players in Dolphins history.”
Fernandez, listed at 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds during his playing days, had a knack for getting to the quarterback, despite often being double-teamed. He recorded five sacks in the Dolphins’ unbeaten season and 6.5 during the 1973 campaign, which ended with the franchise’s second Super Bowl victory. Miami has not won one since.
“We didn’t do it with smoke and mirrors,” Fernandez told the NFL in a 2022 piece looking back on the 1972 season. “We did it with great players and coaches. Our worst players were better than some teams’ best players. They had your back, and you had to do your best to have their back.”
Fernandez was born in Oakland and played for Utah. After going undrafted, Fernandez was signed by the Dolphins in 1968, and he played there his entire eight-year career. In 2014, Miami inducted Fernandez into the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll.
— Micah Pollack contributed to this story.
May 27, 2026
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