Dolphin Great Nathan Goes Back to School

Former star back goes from NFL coach to high school sidelines

By ADAM KUPERSTEIN and BRIAN HAMACHER

Updated 11:04 AM EST, Wed, Nov 11, 2009

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If you're old enough to remember the last two times the Dolphins played in the Super Bowl, you're old enough to remember the name Tony Nathan.

A running back with the hands of a receiver, Nathan spent his entire 9-year career with the Dolphins running through defenses and gaining as many yards in the air as he did on the ground.

After helping to get the Dolphins to Super Bowls XVII and XIX and retiring in 1989, he's been coaching running backs throughout the league, with stints with the Dolphins, then in Tampa, Baltimore and San Francisco.

But his latest gig is a little more low key.

That's because Nathan is now in charge of the running backs at Hialeah Miami Lakes Senior High.

"I remember when someone first told me, you know, I did a double take," said assistant coach Pete Basnueva. "I said, 'Excuse me?' it was like 'Who?'"

Nathan, 52, is now teaching his famous "hook and lateral" play to a whole new generation of kids who, until a couple months back, had never heard of him.

"Honestly, at first I didn't know exactly who he was because that's way before my time," said senior defensive end Manny Diaz.

Lack of name recognition and lack of an NFL sideline don't seem to bother Coach Nathan, who feels right at home on a high school gridiron.

"The hoopla is different, it's on a whole different level, but this is more, kind of like it's almost this is more of a war," Nathan said.

Nathan, who lives right up the road from the school, said despite his status as a Dolphin great, he still has to earn the respect of his student-athletes.

"I want them to respect me as a coach, not a name, because I played," Nathan said. "That has nothing to do with me."

While his players may have had to Google him to find out his history, Nathan already had plenty of fans in the stands. One player's mother even came down before a game to get Nathan to sign a helmet.

"Everybody hasn't forgot," Nathan said with a chuckle. "It was cool."

The players think having Nathan there to guide them is pretty cool, too.

"I was impressed," said Diaz. "That's special for him to come out here and coach us, a high school football team."