Tony Sparano’s loyalty, character make NY Jets players feel like loved ones

C Mart · 05-26-2012, 08:17 PM

[B][SIZE=2]Tony Sparano’s loyalty, character make NY Jets players feel like loved ones [/SIZE][/B]

E[SIZE=2]nd Zone: Meet Jets' new family guy[/SIZE]

[LEFT][COLOR=#000000][SIZE=2]By [URL="http://www.nydailynews.com/authors?author=Manish%20Mehta"]Manish Mehta[/URL] / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS [/SIZE]

[LEFT]At a red light on a quiet street in Branford, Conn., Jeanette Chieppo stared at the only boyfriend she ever had.

He sat behind the wheel of a blue Chevrolet Caprice Classic, two weeks removed from one of the eight knee operations he would have in his life, without revealing plans for the marriage proposal that had been derailed. Jeanette, still exhausted from an emergency appendectomy days earlier, would later learn from friends of his idea to go on a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride in New York. Six years after Tony Sparano III asked out a cute high school freshman to the movies and an ice cream parlor, he put his foot on the brake and turned off the radio. It was Christmas Eve.

"The suave guy that I am," he says now, "I pulled the ring out."

Their journey through eight cities in 27 years began at a stoplight on a Saturday afternoon, eight miles from their hometown of New Haven, in the middle of running errands for Jeanette's grandmother.

"It was perfect," she says.

Before Sparano, 50, was hired as the Jets' offensive coordinator to resurrect a wayward offense with a wayward young quarterback, he built a career that began at a Division II school on fierce loyalty and integrity, pillars that buoy him each day. His hard exterior, his friends and family insist, belies an honesty that never made him cut corners to get ahead. The old-school disciplinarian, the Everyman who sounds like a Queens cab driver, is a prolific texter and lover of all things Eminem. He has a quick wit. "He's hilarious," his son, Andy, says with a laugh.

"The things he says are so powerful," says Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who cultivated a close bond with his former coach. "He's like a philosopher."

His 5-month-old grandson, Anthony Michael Jr., brings out his soft side. Murphy, the family cat, brings out his ornery side.

"He certainly doesn't run around our house with a whistle and bark orders," Jeanette says.

Sparano's three-decade long adventure with his wife and three children that wound from West Haven, Conn., to Boston to Cleveland to Washington, D.C., to Jacksonville to Dallas and Miami has reached a familiar place. As a kid, Sparano sat on the lap of his father, Anthony Jr., pointing out players on his old man's favorite Giants teams: Gifford, Huff, Robustelli, Tittle, McElhenny.

"It's so funny when the Northeast gets a rap of being unfriendly," Jeanette says. "We appreciate the realness. What you see is what you get. I think it's the best way to be. We grew up like this. I think they'll get him."[LEFT][COLOR=#000000]
Just before midnight on Oct. 12, 2009, [URL="http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Rex+Ryan"]Rex Ryan[/URL] shook Sparano's hand, turned to Jets vice president of security Steve Yarnell and expressed his feelings about the Dolphins' then- head coach: "I don't like this dude."

Sparano's team had just carved up Ryan's defense for 413 yards, including a back-breaking 2-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation with 10 seconds left to beat the Jets, 31-27, on a Monday night in Miami. Inside the Jets locker room, Ryan was fuming. Sparano, wearing his trademark sunglasses at night, had just beaten Ryan at his own game: Tough, physical, no-nonsense football.

"I was pissed," Ryan remembered. "I'm like, ‘I'm going to kick that dude's ass next time.'"

Ryan's respect and appreciation for Sparano grew that night. When the Dolphins fired Sparano after Week 14 last season, the Jets head coach knew that he'd be lucky to have him on his staff. When the team parted ways with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer after the season, Sparano was the only external candidate Ryan considered for the job. "After he became available," Ryan admitted, "I'm like, ‘Oh, hell, yeah… that's my guy."

The Jets first interviewed offensive line coach Bill Callahan for the vacant position before Ryan, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and owner Woody Johnson flew down in the team's private jet to a small airport near Sparano's home in Hilton Head, S.C. The four of them holed up in a small room at the airport for the next six hours. The meticulous Sparano laid out his philosophies to the Jets' brass, detailing everything from his core philosophies to the way he calls formations. Ryan was in heaven. Sparano's offensive approach mirrored Ryan's defensive approach.

Ten years earlier, Tom Coughlin felt the same way about Sparano during an interview when he was looking for a tight ends coach for the Jaguars.

"We had an opportunity to see the depth of the detail that he had," Coughlin says. "I can remember the exact play we had him demonstrate to us. He did a great job of that. I knew the type of coach that he was."

When the Jaguars fired their coaching staff a year later, new Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells leaned on Coughlin's recommendation to bring Sparano aboard. "Tom Coughlin told me that he was one of the two best assistant coaches that he'd ever had," says Parcells, who later hired Sparano to be Dolphins head coach in 2008. "I have a high regard for Tom and that was enough for me."

Tannenbaum, whose football philosophies were shaped by Parcells, consulted his mentor, who praised Sparano.

Sparano's attention to detail and organizational skills were nothing new. "He kept a clean room. He sure did," his father says. "Everything was in order."

"I'm stickler for the details," the coach says. "If (a pattern is) supposed to be run at 18 yards, I need it run at 18 — not 16. If not, sometimes bad things happen."

The details matter in every facet of his life. On vacations, Sparano's wife and children tease him for his manila folder filled with family activities. "If you say you want to go golfing," Andy says, "he's got four courses ready to go. It's amazing. He's got a million ideas and ways for us to spend time together."

Sparano, who lived in four cities during a four-year stretch at the turn of the millennium, covets every moment with his family. His itinerant lifestyle drew the five of them closer. When the coach found a new job in a new city, his kids always insisted that they wanted to follow him even when it meant losing a few friends along the way. His oldest son, Anthony Michael, a coaching intern for the Jets, attended three high schools. Nothing was more important to any of them than staying together.

"You know, to be honest," Sparano says, softly, "My family has gone through an awful lot in the last calendar year."

* * *

Anthony Joseph Sparano Jr. poured brass at his father's foundry before driving a liquor truck for 16 years. His son helped him get a maintenance job at the University of New Haven after he was hired as a part-time coach at his alma mater. He worked at the school for 17 more years.

The father and mother, Marie, instilled a work ethic in their only son that never waned. How else could you explain why Tony Sparano put in a full day's work on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011?

Two years removed from an AFC East title and the greatest turnaround in NFL history, Sparano sat behind his mahogany desk, his fate resting in a man 3,000 miles away. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, a Michigan Man, had become infatuated with Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, a Michigan alum.

Sparano was 11-5 in his first season after inheriting a 1-15 team, but back-to-back 7-9 campaigns tempted Ross to look for a replacement. Sparano was under contract for one more season, unaware that the owner and GM Jeff Ireland had made the cross-country trip the night before to look for a new coach.

There was an air of inevitability at Dolphins headquarters. Some coaches began to pack boxes. Sparano, who went for his daily half-hour walk at 2:30 p.m., did not.

"He was hurt," Marshall says. "He handled it like a pro. He handled it like a man. When something like that happens to you, sometimes it's easy for us to get upset and get frustrated and lash out in the things we say or the things we do, but Coach continued with business as usual."

After Harbaugh spurned Ross' offer to make him the highest paid coach in the league, the owner gave Sparano a mea culpa extension. Their relationship, however, was never the same again. The rift between the owner and coach was never truly repaired. Sparano's family and players marveled at his ability to weather the public embarrassment.

"Him being the head coach of the Miami Dolphins was an incredible experience," said Andy Sparano, the offensive line coach at RPI in upstate New York. "We loved it. We were so proud of him to get to where he was, but that didn't define us as a family."

It didn't define the man, either. Even after the Dolphins began last season 0-7, Sparano never lost his players. They never quit on him.

When Ross fired Saprano after a 4-9 start, Sparano took the high road. Bitterness never anchored him.

"He'll just do the right thing," Jeanette says. "It shouldn't be that weird. But it sort of is. I admire him so much for that."

* * *

They sat in the dark office together, the no-nonsense coach and mercurial wide receiver, talking about everything from literature to real estate.

The lights are never on in Sparano's office. When he was 17, he burned both of his eyes when a French fry machine exploded in his face while he was working the overnight shift at a fast food restaurant. He wore patches over both eyes for a few weeks, but his left eye suffered more damage, a burned retina that has made him eternally sensitive to light. He suffered bouts with migraines for years before realizing that sunglasses — even at night — were his elixir. His eye tears if he's exposed to light for too long.

So, Sparano has always conducted his business in the dark. "They think I'm a bat," he cracks.

For Marshall, who played for Sparano in Miami for two years, the coach's impact has been life changing. Marshall was stabbed last year and later revealed that he suffered from bipolar personality disorder. Sparano became a source of strength.

The coach was hard on his star wideout in practice, but he cultivated a relationship with Marshall that remains as strong today as it has ever been.

"We talked about a book we both were reading," Marshall says about his frequent visits to the dark office. "We talked about football. We talked about ex-players. We talked about life. We talked about what it is to be a husband, a man."

"He embraces you and loves you no matter what. He's a true leader," Marshall adds. "What really made me fall in love with Coach is just the type of man he is: His love for his family and his loyalty."

The loud disciplinarian has bonded with players half his age thanks, in part, to his daughter, Ryan, who taught him the art of text messaging a few years ago. He's already started to develop a bond with Mark Sanchez and Dustin Keller that way. Sanchez has visited Sparano's house a couple times to hang out socially with the family too.

"He's an old-school guy who had to learn how to connect with guys like us growing up in this technology era where you can instantly say something to somebody without every speaking," Sanchez says. "Number one, it probably blew his mind. But he's not afraid to do it. If this is going to help him communicate, he'll do it. If it's a wire and two soup cans, he'll do it. That's the kind of guy he is. He'll get it done."

"I want them to see that side of me," Sparano admits. "Because there's the other side of me when I have to demand and I have to get results. I want them to know that he's just not this guy all the time. He's this other guy sometimes, you know, that can joke and kid with them and have a good time. There's a time and a place for both."

* * *

Ryan Sparano received the call two years ago from a man in a state of confusion. Eminem's album, "Recovery," had been released on iTunes that morning, but her father didn't have the first clue as to how to download it. The coach's iPod was already filled with everything from Rascal Flatts to Mary J. Blige. "He doesn't like to listen to Lady Gaga with me," Ryan, 19, says. "That's one thing he won't budge on."

After a quick phone tutorial, Sparano, a quick study, figured it out. The music buoyed him when he went through warrior workouts with Dolphins trainers to lose weight after his eighth knee surgery. Sparano beat the sun to his workouts, pounding tires with sledgehammers and running steps in a weighted vest. Once 285 pounds, he now maintains a weight of 210-215.

As with most things in his life, Sparano created a plan and executed it. His plan for the Jets is re-establish the run-first identity that they lost sight of last season. He insists there will be explosive wrinkles too.

Jeanette hopes he'll deviate from the plan off the field. Her dream: Sky diving.

Sparano has a fear of heights, but his wife still holds out hope.

His daughter knows better.

"I can't even get my dad to go on the Ferris wheel with me at Toys R Us in the city," Ryan says. "So, no… he will NOT jump out of a plane."[LEFT][COLOR=#000000]
Read more: [URL]http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/tony-sparano-loyalty-character-ny-jets-players-feel-loved-article-1.1085110#ixzz1w1avDyU1[/URL]
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Charlie Brown · 05-26-2012, 08:40 PM

Thank you!!

This was a great article one of Manish's best in a very long time!!!

Articles like this make me feel glad that the Jets hired Sparano.

Jet Blast · 05-26-2012, 08:53 PM

I think Sparano will prove to be the right guy at the right time for the Jets.

McGinley · 05-27-2012, 12:15 AM

Yea, I'm not reading the essay.

tfine350z · 05-27-2012, 12:26 AM

Good read! Sparano is a great guy! My father used to cut his hair when he was at the University of New Haven...in West haven Conn...My hometown as well.

Demosthenes9 · 05-27-2012, 01:12 AM

Great article! Can't wait to see how his offensive system looks and how the players perform within it.

Ray Ray19 · 05-27-2012, 01:17 AM

Great article, a true insight to the coach, the person.

Key points for me...

1. Tough, hard-nosed, disciplined, all attributes this Jets team, and mostly, the offense, needed. He's tough, but also has a side to him that players really buy into. The Marshall quotes are amazing, with Marshall's background, the fact that he gained so much respect for Sparano speaks volumes.

2. How the team never gave up on Sparano. Sparano was dealt a raw deal before last season, when Miami went after Harbaugh, Sparano handled it with class and beyond, that really impressed his team, a telling tale.

3. Very interesting how Sanchez has already reached out and has connected with Sparano off the field, a rather big sign IMO. It's more telling about Sanchez, the value of those off-the-field meetings are huge, they are big for him as he learns Sparano's offense, and it gives him added insight to how Sparano things. It's big for the team. Love what I'm reading about Sanchez so far this off-season.

It's as if the Jets are operating at a completely different wavelength, and then there is the media that seem to think they have the Jets all figured out, and they haven't got a clue, like many of the fans on this board!

Charlie Brown · 05-27-2012, 05:05 AM

[QUOTE=Ray Ray19;4478449]Great article, a true insight to the coach, the person.

Key points for me...

1. Tough, hard-nosed, disciplined, all attributes this Jets team, and mostly, the offense, needed. He's tough, but also has a side to him that players really buy into. The Marshall quotes are amazing, with Marshall's background, the fact that he gained so much respect for Sparano speaks volumes.

2. How the team never gave up on Sparano. Sparano was dealt a raw deal before last season, when Miami went after Harbaugh, Sparano handled it with class and beyond, that really impressed his team, a telling tale.

3. Very interesting how Sanchez has already reached out and has connected with Sparano off the field, a rather big sign IMO. It's more telling about Sanchez, the value of those off-the-field meetings are huge, they are big for him as he learns Sparano's offense, and it gives him added insight to how Sparano things. It's big for the team. Love what I'm reading about Sanchez so far this off-season.

It's as if the Jets are operating at a completely different wavelength, and then there is the media that seem to think they have the Jets all figured out, and they haven't got a clue, like many of the fans on this board![/QUOTE]

Excellent post Ray!!!!

BX Jet Fan · 05-27-2012, 06:27 AM

So Tony S has a 19 year old daughter and Mark has been to the house a few times. Coincidence? I think not!!

First DOWN! · 05-27-2012, 06:50 AM

:yes::yes::yes::yes::yes::yes:

DDNYjets · 05-27-2012, 09:08 AM

Loved the article. Nice to see a paisan work hard and have some level of success. Hope he learns from the Miami experience and we benefit from it.

[QUOTE]So Tony S has a 19 year old daughter and Mark has been to the house a few times. Coincidence? I think not!![/QUOTE]

Tony would break his legs.

Now Tebow on the other hand . . .

JetsNeedNewton · 05-27-2012, 10:23 AM

Ok, who are you and what did you do with the real Mehta?

Dcat · 05-27-2012, 11:08 AM

[QUOTE=Ray Ray19;4478449]Great article, a true insight to the coach, the person.

Key points for me...

1. Tough, hard-nosed, disciplined, all attributes this Jets team, and mostly, the offense, needed. He's tough, but also has a side to him that players really buy into. The Marshall quotes are amazing, with Marshall's background, the fact that he gained so much respect for Sparano speaks volumes.

2. How the team never gave up on Sparano. Sparano was dealt a raw deal before last season, when Miami went after Harbaugh, Sparano handled it with class and beyond, that really impressed his team, a telling tale.

3. Very interesting how Sanchez has already reached out and has connected with Sparano off the field, a rather big sign IMO. It's more telling about Sanchez, the value of those off-the-field meetings are huge, they are big for him as he learns Sparano's offense, and it gives him added insight to how Sparano things. It's big for the team. Love what I'm reading about Sanchez so far this off-season.

It's as if the Jets are operating at a completely different wavelength, and then there is the media that seem to think they have the Jets all figured out, and they haven't got a clue, like many of the fans on this board![/QUOTE]

+1,000,000!!!!!!!!!! :yes:

ARodFLKeysJetsFan · 05-27-2012, 11:12 AM

[QUOTE=Jet Blast;4478382]I think Sparano will prove to be the right guy at the right time for the Jets.[/QUOTE]

Yep, I have said it before & I'll say it again.....Tony Sparano will prove to be the Jets best off-season acquisition....

Charlie Brown · 05-27-2012, 11:24 AM

[QUOTE=ARodFLKeysJetsFan;4478657]Yep, I have said it before & I'll say it again.....Tony Sparano will prove to be the Jets best off-season acquisition....[/QUOTE]

Thank you.....

In a very real sense you maybe right.

I was very VERY skeptical about bringing in Tony Sparano as our OC. I mean nothing about the Dolphins offense excited me, NOTHING.:eek:

But the one thing that I underestimated and is quite evident from all the people who have worked with him is his integrity, intensity and focus as a coach.

I look at how Schotty took subtle shots at Sanchez when he left and compare and contrast that with how Coach Sparano was willing to maintian his level of professionalism and "doing what was right" even when dealing with the looniest ownership group in the entire NFL in Miami.

So I will be the first to say that you maybe right that there is something about this guy that I like and that he has already paid dividends in that the Jets offensive players are already acting in a more professional and business like manner than they ever did with their former OC.

The team according to Rex is already working at a much faster pace than last year and the reason for this increase in team practicing speed according to Rex is as a direct result of Coach Sparano and his different approach as a coach.

Joe W. Namath · 05-27-2012, 01:29 PM

This reminds me of an article I read about Brain Schottenheimer around this time in 2006. How schotty grew up in a football family. How he learned from his dad and from steve spurrier. How he helped drew brees become the qb he is.

And then we all posted how great this was going to work out.

sg3 · 05-27-2012, 01:43 PM

have you ever had a positive thought or comment about anyone or anything?

ARodFLKeysJetsFan · 05-27-2012, 01:48 PM

[QUOTE=Joe W. Namath]This reminds me of an article I read about Brain Schottenheimer around this time in 2006. How schotty grew up in a football family. How he learned from his dad and from steve spurrier. How he helped drew brees become the qb he is.

And then we all posted how great this was going to work out. [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=sg3;4478724][B]have you ever had a positive thought or comment about anyone or anything?[/B][/QUOTE]

[IMG]http://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/CSP/CSP791/bad-times-ahead_~k7915898.jpg[/IMG]

[B]Everyone knows this is his normal thought process.....[/B] :rolleyes:

jetsfan920 · 05-27-2012, 01:52 PM

Great article. Loved the hire when we made it and this just confirms my thoughts.

tfine350z · 05-27-2012, 02:12 PM

[QUOTE=Joe W. Namath;4478716]This reminds me of an article I read about Brain Schottenheimer around this time in 2006. How schotty grew up in a football family. How he learned from his dad and from steve spurrier. How he helped drew brees become the qb he is.

And then we all posted how great this was going to work out.[/QUOTE]

I don't think Schotty was a bad OC. I just think he was a bad OC for the Jets. He in a way was like Mangini and trying make players fit his system rather then playing to the players strengths.....I also got the sense that managed scared with Mark...

05-26-2012, 08:17 PM	#1
C Mart Jets Insider VIP Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 21,314	Tony Sparano’s loyalty, character make NY Jets players feel like loved ones [B][SIZE=2]Tony Sparano’s loyalty, character make NY Jets players feel like loved ones [/SIZE][/B] E[SIZE=2]nd Zone: Meet Jets' new family guy[/SIZE] [LEFT][COLOR=#000000][SIZE=2]By [URL="http://www.nydailynews.com/authors?author=Manish%20Mehta"]Manish Mehta[/URL] / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS [/SIZE] [LEFT]At a red light on a quiet street in Branford, Conn., Jeanette Chieppo stared at the only boyfriend she ever had. He sat behind the wheel of a blue Chevrolet Caprice Classic, two weeks removed from one of the eight knee operations he would have in his life, without revealing plans for the marriage proposal that had been derailed. Jeanette, still exhausted from an emergency appendectomy days earlier, would later learn from friends of his idea to go on a romantic horse-drawn carriage ride in New York. Six years after Tony Sparano III asked out a cute high school freshman to the movies and an ice cream parlor, he put his foot on the brake and turned off the radio. It was Christmas Eve. "The suave guy that I am," he says now, "I pulled the ring out." Their journey through eight cities in 27 years began at a stoplight on a Saturday afternoon, eight miles from their hometown of New Haven, in the middle of running errands for Jeanette's grandmother. "It was perfect," she says. Before Sparano, 50, was hired as the Jets' offensive coordinator to resurrect a wayward offense with a wayward young quarterback, he built a career that began at a Division II school on fierce loyalty and integrity, pillars that buoy him each day. His hard exterior, his friends and family insist, belies an honesty that never made him cut corners to get ahead. The old-school disciplinarian, the Everyman who sounds like a Queens cab driver, is a prolific texter and lover of all things Eminem. He has a quick wit. "He's hilarious," his son, Andy, says with a laugh. "The things he says are so powerful," says Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who cultivated a close bond with his former coach. "He's like a philosopher." His 5-month-old grandson, Anthony Michael Jr., brings out his soft side. Murphy, the family cat, brings out his ornery side. "He certainly doesn't run around our house with a whistle and bark orders," Jeanette says. Sparano's three-decade long adventure with his wife and three children that wound from West Haven, Conn., to Boston to Cleveland to Washington, D.C., to Jacksonville to Dallas and Miami has reached a familiar place. As a kid, Sparano sat on the lap of his father, Anthony Jr., pointing out players on his old man's favorite Giants teams: Gifford, Huff, Robustelli, Tittle, McElhenny. "It's so funny when the Northeast gets a rap of being unfriendly," Jeanette says. "We appreciate the realness. What you see is what you get. I think it's the best way to be. We grew up like this. I think they'll get him."[LEFT][COLOR=#000000] Just before midnight on Oct. 12, 2009, [URL="http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Rex+Ryan"]Rex Ryan[/URL] shook Sparano's hand, turned to Jets vice president of security Steve Yarnell and expressed his feelings about the Dolphins' then- head coach: "I don't like this dude." Sparano's team had just carved up Ryan's defense for 413 yards, including a back-breaking 2-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation with 10 seconds left to beat the Jets, 31-27, on a Monday night in Miami. Inside the Jets locker room, Ryan was fuming. Sparano, wearing his trademark sunglasses at night, had just beaten Ryan at his own game: Tough, physical, no-nonsense football. "I was pissed," Ryan remembered. "I'm like, ‘I'm going to kick that dude's ass next time.'" Ryan's respect and appreciation for Sparano grew that night. When the Dolphins fired Sparano after Week 14 last season, the Jets head coach knew that he'd be lucky to have him on his staff. When the team parted ways with offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer after the season, Sparano was the only external candidate Ryan considered for the job. "After he became available," Ryan admitted, "I'm like, ‘Oh, hell, yeah… that's my guy." The Jets first interviewed offensive line coach Bill Callahan for the vacant position before Ryan, general manager Mike Tannenbaum and owner Woody Johnson flew down in the team's private jet to a small airport near Sparano's home in Hilton Head, S.C. The four of them holed up in a small room at the airport for the next six hours. The meticulous Sparano laid out his philosophies to the Jets' brass, detailing everything from his core philosophies to the way he calls formations. Ryan was in heaven. Sparano's offensive approach mirrored Ryan's defensive approach. Ten years earlier, Tom Coughlin felt the same way about Sparano during an interview when he was looking for a tight ends coach for the Jaguars. "We had an opportunity to see the depth of the detail that he had," Coughlin says. "I can remember the exact play we had him demonstrate to us. He did a great job of that. I knew the type of coach that he was." When the Jaguars fired their coaching staff a year later, new Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells leaned on Coughlin's recommendation to bring Sparano aboard. "Tom Coughlin told me that he was one of the two best assistant coaches that he'd ever had," says Parcells, who later hired Sparano to be Dolphins head coach in 2008. "I have a high regard for Tom and that was enough for me." Tannenbaum, whose football philosophies were shaped by Parcells, consulted his mentor, who praised Sparano. Sparano's attention to detail and organizational skills were nothing new. "He kept a clean room. He sure did," his father says. "Everything was in order." "I'm stickler for the details," the coach says. "If (a pattern is) supposed to be run at 18 yards, I need it run at 18 — not 16. If not, sometimes bad things happen." The details matter in every facet of his life. On vacations, Sparano's wife and children tease him for his manila folder filled with family activities. "If you say you want to go golfing," Andy says, "he's got four courses ready to go. It's amazing. He's got a million ideas and ways for us to spend time together." Sparano, who lived in four cities during a four-year stretch at the turn of the millennium, covets every moment with his family. His itinerant lifestyle drew the five of them closer. When the coach found a new job in a new city, his kids always insisted that they wanted to follow him even when it meant losing a few friends along the way. His oldest son, Anthony Michael, a coaching intern for the Jets, attended three high schools. Nothing was more important to any of them than staying together. "You know, to be honest," Sparano says, softly, "My family has gone through an awful lot in the last calendar year." * * * Anthony Joseph Sparano Jr. poured brass at his father's foundry before driving a liquor truck for 16 years. His son helped him get a maintenance job at the University of New Haven after he was hired as a part-time coach at his alma mater. He worked at the school for 17 more years. The father and mother, Marie, instilled a work ethic in their only son that never waned. How else could you explain why Tony Sparano put in a full day's work on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011? Two years removed from an AFC East title and the greatest turnaround in NFL history, Sparano sat behind his mahogany desk, his fate resting in a man 3,000 miles away. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, a Michigan Man, had become infatuated with Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, a Michigan alum. Sparano was 11-5 in his first season after inheriting a 1-15 team, but back-to-back 7-9 campaigns tempted Ross to look for a replacement. Sparano was under contract for one more season, unaware that the owner and GM Jeff Ireland had made the cross-country trip the night before to look for a new coach. There was an air of inevitability at Dolphins headquarters. Some coaches began to pack boxes. Sparano, who went for his daily half-hour walk at 2:30 p.m., did not. "He was hurt," Marshall says. "He handled it like a pro. He handled it like a man. When something like that happens to you, sometimes it's easy for us to get upset and get frustrated and lash out in the things we say or the things we do, but Coach continued with business as usual." After Harbaugh spurned Ross' offer to make him the highest paid coach in the league, the owner gave Sparano a mea culpa extension. Their relationship, however, was never the same again. The rift between the owner and coach was never truly repaired. Sparano's family and players marveled at his ability to weather the public embarrassment. "Him being the head coach of the Miami Dolphins was an incredible experience," said Andy Sparano, the offensive line coach at RPI in upstate New York. "We loved it. We were so proud of him to get to where he was, but that didn't define us as a family." It didn't define the man, either. Even after the Dolphins began last season 0-7, Sparano never lost his players. They never quit on him. When Ross fired Saprano after a 4-9 start, Sparano took the high road. Bitterness never anchored him. "He'll just do the right thing," Jeanette says. "It shouldn't be that weird. But it sort of is. I admire him so much for that." * * * They sat in the dark office together, the no-nonsense coach and mercurial wide receiver, talking about everything from literature to real estate. The lights are never on in Sparano's office. When he was 17, he burned both of his eyes when a French fry machine exploded in his face while he was working the overnight shift at a fast food restaurant. He wore patches over both eyes for a few weeks, but his left eye suffered more damage, a burned retina that has made him eternally sensitive to light. He suffered bouts with migraines for years before realizing that sunglasses — even at night — were his elixir. His eye tears if he's exposed to light for too long. So, Sparano has always conducted his business in the dark. "They think I'm a bat," he cracks. For Marshall, who played for Sparano in Miami for two years, the coach's impact has been life changing. Marshall was stabbed last year and later revealed that he suffered from bipolar personality disorder. Sparano became a source of strength. The coach was hard on his star wideout in practice, but he cultivated a relationship with Marshall that remains as strong today as it has ever been. "We talked about a book we both were reading," Marshall says about his frequent visits to the dark office. "We talked about football. We talked about ex-players. We talked about life. We talked about what it is to be a husband, a man." "He embraces you and loves you no matter what. He's a true leader," Marshall adds. "What really made me fall in love with Coach is just the type of man he is: His love for his family and his loyalty." The loud disciplinarian has bonded with players half his age thanks, in part, to his daughter, Ryan, who taught him the art of text messaging a few years ago. He's already started to develop a bond with Mark Sanchez and Dustin Keller that way. Sanchez has visited Sparano's house a couple times to hang out socially with the family too. "He's an old-school guy who had to learn how to connect with guys like us growing up in this technology era where you can instantly say something to somebody without every speaking," Sanchez says. "Number one, it probably blew his mind. But he's not afraid to do it. If this is going to help him communicate, he'll do it. If it's a wire and two soup cans, he'll do it. That's the kind of guy he is. He'll get it done." "I want them to see that side of me," Sparano admits. "Because there's the other side of me when I have to demand and I have to get results. I want them to know that he's just not this guy all the time. He's this other guy sometimes, you know, that can joke and kid with them and have a good time. There's a time and a place for both." * * * Ryan Sparano received the call two years ago from a man in a state of confusion. Eminem's album, "Recovery," had been released on iTunes that morning, but her father didn't have the first clue as to how to download it. The coach's iPod was already filled with everything from Rascal Flatts to Mary J. Blige. "He doesn't like to listen to Lady Gaga with me," Ryan, 19, says. "That's one thing he won't budge on." After a quick phone tutorial, Sparano, a quick study, figured it out. The music buoyed him when he went through warrior workouts with Dolphins trainers to lose weight after his eighth knee surgery. Sparano beat the sun to his workouts, pounding tires with sledgehammers and running steps in a weighted vest. Once 285 pounds, he now maintains a weight of 210-215. As with most things in his life, Sparano created a plan and executed it. His plan for the Jets is re-establish the run-first identity that they lost sight of last season. He insists there will be explosive wrinkles too. Jeanette hopes he'll deviate from the plan off the field. Her dream: Sky diving. Sparano has a fear of heights, but his wife still holds out hope. His daughter knows better. "I can't even get my dad to go on the Ferris wheel with me at Toys R Us in the city," Ryan says. "So, no… he will NOT jump out of a plane."[LEFT][COLOR=#000000] Read more: [URL]http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/tony-sparano-loyalty-character-ny-jets-players-feel-loved-article-1.1085110#ixzz1w1avDyU1[/URL] [/COLOR][/LEFT] [/COLOR][/LEFT] [/LEFT] [/COLOR][/LEFT] Last edited by C Mart; 05-26-2012 at 08:25 PM.

05-27-2012, 01:48 PM	#18
ARodFLKeysJetsFan Jets GM John Idzik is handling business.... Hall Of Fame Charter JI Member Join Date: May 1999 Location: Currently Norfolk, VA.... Posts: 18,388	[QUOTE=Joe W. Namath]This reminds me of an article I read about Brain Schottenheimer around this time in 2006. How schotty grew up in a football family. How he learned from his dad and from steve spurrier. How he helped drew brees become the qb he is. And then we all posted how great this was going to work out. [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=sg3;4478724][B]have you ever had a positive thought or comment about anyone or anything?[/B][/QUOTE] [IMG]http://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/CSP/CSP791/bad-times-ahead_~k7915898.jpg[/IMG] [B]Everyone knows this is his normal thought process.....[/B] :rolleyes: Last edited by ARodFLKeysJetsFan; 05-27-2012 at 01:57 PM.

05-26-2012, 08:40 PM	#2
Charlie Brown Please Pray for the Safety of Everyone!!! Jets Insider VIP Join Date: May 1999 Location: New York City Posts: 5,577	Thank you!! This was a great article one of Manish's best in a very long time!!! Articles like this make me feel glad that the Jets hired Sparano.

05-26-2012, 08:53 PM	#3
Jet Blast is full of status All League Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Forked River, NJ Posts: 4,503	I think Sparano will prove to be the right guy at the right time for the Jets.

05-27-2012, 12:15 AM	#4
McGinley We Know Geno All Pro Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 7,612	Yea, I'm not reading the essay.

05-27-2012, 12:26 AM	#5
tfine350z looking for a new avatar Veteran Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,123	Good read! Sparano is a great guy! My father used to cut his hair when he was at the University of New Haven...in West haven Conn...My hometown as well.

05-27-2012, 01:12 AM	#6
Demosthenes9 PimpAssedAvatar Thanks McGinley :) Veteran Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 2,317	Great article! Can't wait to see how his offensive system looks and how the players perform within it.

05-27-2012, 01:17 AM	#7
Ray Ray19 Not a SOJF Hall Of Fame Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 13,956	Great article, a true insight to the coach, the person. Key points for me... 1. Tough, hard-nosed, disciplined, all attributes this Jets team, and mostly, the offense, needed. He's tough, but also has a side to him that players really buy into. The Marshall quotes are amazing, with Marshall's background, the fact that he gained so much respect for Sparano speaks volumes. 2. How the team never gave up on Sparano. Sparano was dealt a raw deal before last season, when Miami went after Harbaugh, Sparano handled it with class and beyond, that really impressed his team, a telling tale. 3. Very interesting how Sanchez has already reached out and has connected with Sparano off the field, a rather big sign IMO. It's more telling about Sanchez, the value of those off-the-field meetings are huge, they are big for him as he learns Sparano's offense, and it gives him added insight to how Sparano things. It's big for the team. Love what I'm reading about Sanchez so far this off-season. It's as if the Jets are operating at a completely different wavelength, and then there is the media that seem to think they have the Jets all figured out, and they haven't got a clue, like many of the fans on this board!

05-27-2012, 05:05 AM	#8
Charlie Brown Please Pray for the Safety of Everyone!!! Jets Insider VIP Join Date: May 1999 Location: New York City Posts: 5,577	[QUOTE=Ray Ray19;4478449]Great article, a true insight to the coach, the person. Key points for me... 1. Tough, hard-nosed, disciplined, all attributes this Jets team, and mostly, the offense, needed. He's tough, but also has a side to him that players really buy into. The Marshall quotes are amazing, with Marshall's background, the fact that he gained so much respect for Sparano speaks volumes. 2. How the team never gave up on Sparano. Sparano was dealt a raw deal before last season, when Miami went after Harbaugh, Sparano handled it with class and beyond, that really impressed his team, a telling tale. 3. Very interesting how Sanchez has already reached out and has connected with Sparano off the field, a rather big sign IMO. It's more telling about Sanchez, the value of those off-the-field meetings are huge, they are big for him as he learns Sparano's offense, and it gives him added insight to how Sparano things. It's big for the team. Love what I'm reading about Sanchez so far this off-season. It's as if the Jets are operating at a completely different wavelength, and then there is the media that seem to think they have the Jets all figured out, and they haven't got a clue, like many of the fans on this board![/QUOTE] Excellent post Ray!!!!

05-27-2012, 06:27 AM	#9
BX Jet Fan Veteran Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 144	So Tony S has a 19 year old daughter and Mark has been to the house a few times. Coincidence? I think not!!

05-27-2012, 06:50 AM	#10
First DOWN! Practice Squad Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 395	:yes::yes::yes::yes::yes::yes:

05-27-2012, 09:08 AM	#11
DDNYjets Hall Of Fame Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: New York Posts: 12,561	Loved the article. Nice to see a paisan work hard and have some level of success. Hope he learns from the Miami experience and we benefit from it. [QUOTE]So Tony S has a 19 year old daughter and Mark has been to the house a few times. Coincidence? I think not!![/QUOTE] Tony would break his legs. Now Tebow on the other hand . . .

05-27-2012, 10:23 AM	#12
JetsNeedNewton Jets Insider VIP Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 1,771	Ok, who are you and what did you do with the real Mehta?

05-27-2012, 11:08 AM	#13
Dcat Out here we is stoned immaculate Jets Insider VIP Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 8,174	[QUOTE=Ray Ray19;4478449]Great article, a true insight to the coach, the person. Key points for me... 1. Tough, hard-nosed, disciplined, all attributes this Jets team, and mostly, the offense, needed. He's tough, but also has a side to him that players really buy into. The Marshall quotes are amazing, with Marshall's background, the fact that he gained so much respect for Sparano speaks volumes. 2. How the team never gave up on Sparano. Sparano was dealt a raw deal before last season, when Miami went after Harbaugh, Sparano handled it with class and beyond, that really impressed his team, a telling tale. 3. Very interesting how Sanchez has already reached out and has connected with Sparano off the field, a rather big sign IMO. It's more telling about Sanchez, the value of those off-the-field meetings are huge, they are big for him as he learns Sparano's offense, and it gives him added insight to how Sparano things. It's big for the team. Love what I'm reading about Sanchez so far this off-season. It's as if the Jets are operating at a completely different wavelength, and then there is the media that seem to think they have the Jets all figured out, and they haven't got a clue, like many of the fans on this board![/QUOTE] +1,000,000!!!!!!!!!! :yes:

05-27-2012, 11:12 AM	#14
ARodFLKeysJetsFan Jets GM John Idzik is handling business.... Hall Of Fame Charter JI Member Join Date: May 1999 Location: Currently Norfolk, VA.... Posts: 18,388	[QUOTE=Jet Blast;4478382]I think Sparano will prove to be the right guy at the right time for the Jets.[/QUOTE] Yep, I have said it before & I'll say it again.....Tony Sparano will prove to be the Jets best off-season acquisition....

05-27-2012, 11:24 AM	#15
Charlie Brown Please Pray for the Safety of Everyone!!! Jets Insider VIP Join Date: May 1999 Location: New York City Posts: 5,577	[QUOTE=ARodFLKeysJetsFan;4478657]Yep, I have said it before & I'll say it again.....Tony Sparano will prove to be the Jets best off-season acquisition....[/QUOTE] Thank you..... In a very real sense you maybe right. I was very VERY skeptical about bringing in Tony Sparano as our OC. I mean nothing about the Dolphins offense excited me, NOTHING.:eek: But the one thing that I underestimated and is quite evident from all the people who have worked with him is his integrity, intensity and focus as a coach. I look at how Schotty took subtle shots at Sanchez when he left and compare and contrast that with how Coach Sparano was willing to maintian his level of professionalism and "doing what was right" even when dealing with the looniest ownership group in the entire NFL in Miami. So I will be the first to say that you maybe right that there is something about this guy that I like and that he has already paid dividends in that the Jets offensive players are already acting in a more professional and business like manner than they ever did with their former OC. The team according to Rex is already working at a much faster pace than last year and the reason for this increase in team practicing speed according to Rex is as a direct result of Coach Sparano and his different approach as a coach.

05-27-2012, 01:29 PM	#16
Joe W. Namath Darrell Bevell for HC in 2014. All Pro Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Boynton Beach, FL Posts: 7,866	This reminds me of an article I read about Brain Schottenheimer around this time in 2006. How schotty grew up in a football family. How he learned from his dad and from steve spurrier. How he helped drew brees become the qb he is. And then we all posted how great this was going to work out.

05-27-2012, 01:43 PM	#17
sg3 REX AND THE I-MAN - BACK ON TRACK Jets Insider VIP Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The Big Apple, USA Posts: 20,890	have you ever had a positive thought or comment about anyone or anything?

05-27-2012, 01:52 PM	#19
jetsfan920 Lets Get It Veteran Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 1,611	Great article. Loved the hire when we made it and this just confirms my thoughts.

05-27-2012, 02:12 PM	#20
tfine350z looking for a new avatar Veteran Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,123	[QUOTE=Joe W. Namath;4478716]This reminds me of an article I read about Brain Schottenheimer around this time in 2006. How schotty grew up in a football family. How he learned from his dad and from steve spurrier. How he helped drew brees become the qb he is. And then we all posted how great this was going to work out.[/QUOTE] I don't think Schotty was a bad OC. I just think he was a bad OC for the Jets. He in a way was like Mangini and trying make players fit his system rather then playing to the players strengths.....I also got the sense that managed scared with Mark...