The 10 greatest false alarms in NFL history: an April Fools special

NEW YORK CITY - APRIL 24: Quarterback Eli Manning (Mississippi) stands next to his older brother QB Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts after Eli was selected first overall by the San Diego Chargers at the 2004 NFL Draft on April 24, 2004 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Manning was later traded to the New York Giants in exchange for QB Philip Rivers (North Carolina State) and New York's third-round pick (No. 65), which they use to select Iowa K Nate Kaeding, and the Giants' first-round and fifth-round picks in the 2005 draft. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /

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4 Sep 1988: Defensive lineman Steve McMichael of the Chicago Bears (left) goes after Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino during a game at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. The Bears won the game, 34-7. /

06. Don Shula backs out of trading Dan Marino to Raiders

It sounds insane to think about now, but for a brief period in the early 1990s the greatest Miami Dolphin of all-time almost departed before his masterwork of a career was finished. One thing most people forget about Don Shula is how maniacally competitive he was. Winning was the only thing that mattered to him. “I don’t think anything good comes out of losing.” He said those words. So after failing to make the playoffs from 1986 to 1989, one can imagine where his head was at.

Nobody on that Dolphins roster could’ve been considered safe at that point, even mighty quarterback Dan Marino. Apparently, Shula was open to the idea of dealing the Hall of Famer in exchange for a mountain of draft picks and players to rebuild the roster. It got so serious that he had a verbal agreement with the Los Angeles Raiders. However, the old coach began to second-guess the decision and kept raising the price until the Raiders were forced to back out.

It proved a wise decision as Miami made the playoffs four of the next six seasons.

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