Photo courtesy of the Miami Dolphins

MIAMI – Former Miami Dolphins defensive linemen Manny Fernandez, who led the “No Name” defense during the team’s 1972 undefeated season, has died, according to the Sun Sentinel.

He was 79.

In Super Bowl VII against the Washington Redskins, Fernandez recorded 17 tackles in the Dolphins’ 14-7 victory at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to give Miami the only undefeated season at 17-0 in NFL history.

The Sentinel said the Dolphins released a statement that Fernandez will be remembered as “one of the best players in Dolphins history.”

Fernandez joined the Dolphins in their third season in 1968 and became a foundational piece of their two Super Bowl wins and three Super Bowl appearances in the early 1970s.

He was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in 2014. He played his entire eight-year NFL career with the Dolphins.

Fernandez was named the Dolphins’ “Outstanding Defensive Lineman” from the time he was a rookie in 1968 through the second Super Bowl-winning season in 1973. He was named to the Dolphins’ All-Time team in 2007.

The team didn’t release a cause of death.