The right linebacker for the team that recorded the NFL’s only perfect season has died. Mike Kolen died on Wednesday at the age of 76, Auburn University and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame announced.

Kolen was in his third season with Miami when the Dolphins swept through their 14-game regular-season schedule without a loss, then won three playoff games, including Super Bowl VII over the Washington Redskins 14-7 on Jan. 14, 1973. The Dolphins are the only NFL team that has completed a season winning all of its regular season and postseason games.

An All-State selection for W.A. Berry High School in Hoover in 1965, Kolen joined coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan at Auburn and earned All-SEC recognition as a linebacker for the Tigers’ bowl teams of 1968 and 1969.

Kolen wasn’t chosen in the NFL draft until the 12th round in 1970. But being the 289th selection didn’t keep Kolen from starting every game at right linebacker for Miami as a rookie.

Miami went to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history that season. The next season, the Dolphins lost in Super Bowl VI to the Dallas Cowboys 24-3. But Miami won the NFL title game the next two years – first to cap its undefeated season before beating the Minnesota Vikings 24-7 in Super Bowl VIII on Jan. 13, 1974.

The No Name Defense anchored the championship teams as Miami yielded the fewest points in the NFL in the 1972 and 1973 seasons.

After the 1974 season, injuries limited “Captain Crunch,” as Kolen was nicknamed, to 15 games in the 1975 through 1977 seasons before he retired. Miami missed the playoffs in all three seasons.

Kolen played in 84 regular-season games and 11 playoff contests. He was the second player in NFL history who was drafted 289th or later to appear in at least 11 postseason games.

Kolen was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1985.

The Mike Kolen Award is presented annually to Auburn’s leading tackler.

In 1970, Kolen became the first winner of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes College Athlete of the Year Award. He had a long association with the organization and was inducted into the FCA Hall of Champions in 2006.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.