Nathan was the Dolphins' starting running back in
Super Bowl XVII and
Super Bowl XIX. He had a superb performance in Super Bowl XIX, with 18 yards rushing and 10 receptions for 83 yards. His ten receptions were the second most in
Super Bowl history at the time. He was also instrumental in the Dolphins' 45–28 win over the
Pittsburgh Steelers in the
1985 AFC Championship game, in which he rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown, and caught eight receptions for 114 yards. He also had a key performance in the
1981 AFC Divisional playoff game against the
San Diego Chargers that became known as "
The Epic In Miami". Nathan gained 169 total yards and scored two touchdowns in the Dolphins' narrow loss, including a score on the famous "
hook and lateral" play in which he caught a toss from receiver
Duriel Harris. He finished his nine NFL seasons with 3,543 yards rushing, 383 receptions for 3,592 yards, and 32 touchdowns (16 each rushing and receiving). He also completed four of eight passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. He retired from playing in
1988, and became an assistant to
Don Shula. He became the Dolphins'
running backs coach in
1993. He served under
Tony Dungy as the running backs coach for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers from
1996 to
2001. The Bucs ranked 22nd in the
NFL in rushing offense in his first year, but rose steadily to 11th and then 4th in the next two seasons. The Bucs fell to 30th in the league in rushing in
2001, and he was replaced by incoming head coach
Jon Gruden. From 2003 to 2005, Nathan was the running backs coach at
Florida International University, under head coach and former Dolphins teammate
Don Strock. Nathan was inducted into the
Senior Bowl Hall of Fame in 2006, along with
Curtis Martin and
Michael Strahan. Additionally, he returned to the NFL coaching ranks as the
Baltimore Ravens'
running backs coach. On February 4, 2008, Nathan was hired as the
San Francisco 49ers' running backs coach, making him the 24th former Raven to join the 49ers since
Mike Nolan became the head coach. Nathan was fired by the 49ers on December 30, 2008. ==NFL career statistics==