Sparano faces rocky road to the top of AFC East

By Joe Mayes  |   Wednesday, April 02, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Miami Dolphins
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Much has been made of the late Bill Walsh “coaching tree,” the metaphorical lineage on which a coach traces his path to success in the coaching ranks. In an industry where performance is king but relationships are crucial to getting a chance, it’s not surprising that most head coaches laid the foundation for their current success by being successful as part of another coach’s staff.

Of the current NFL head coaches, fully half of them are from the Bill Walsh tree, having served on the staff of Walsh themselves or on the staff of someone who served on his staff (and so forth). Walsh’s emphasis not only on preparing his team to play but on preparing his assistants to coach, and his influence on today’s NFL leadership, is as unprecedented as it is impressive.

But despite this track record, Walsh never laid claim to simultaneously having trained every coach in an entire division like Bill Parcells does right now.

By naming former Cowboys (and Parcells) assistant Tony Sparano as Miami’s head coach, the head coach of every team in the AFC’s eastern division is a “descendent” from the Parcells tree. Parcells himself has now worked for three of the four teams, as head coach of the Patriots and Jets (where he also served as General Manager) and now as Executive Vice President of Football Operations with the Dolphins.

The question is whether or not it will matter on the field.

Parcells record against the men now coaching his AFC East opponents is 2-2, with all four games coming against former Giants assistant Belichick. The Parcells led Patriots won 2 and lost one against Belichick’s Cleveland Browns (1993, 1994, and 1995) and Belichick’s 2003 Patriot team defeated the Parcells led Cowboys. Parcells has never faced former Tom Coughlin assistant Dick Jauron (Bills) or former Belichick assistant Eric Mangini (Jets).

So while it’s an interesting sideline that every head coach in the AFC East is a branch of the Parcells tree, it doesn’t portend much for the results of the 6 head-to-head games that Sparano’s Dolphins have against former Parcells protégés. The students have learned well the lessons of the master and there will be no advantage to be won by this familiarity.

Sparano has acknowledged that he expects to continue to receive very hands-on mentorship from Parcells. That means that he will continue learn at the knee of the same guy who taught New England’s Bill Belichick how to run a franchise and the man whose influence is felt in Buffalo and New York.

In addition to the three years on Parcells’ staff in Dallas, Sparano also served on Tom Coughlin’s staff in Jacksonville for a year (2002) so he knows what to expect as part of the Parcells line. He knows that he will be expected to prepare his team to win with the players he’s given and there won’t be much room for any discussion of the alternative. At least six times each year, he knows he will be facing teams who emphasize defense, running, and preparation.

Sparano will have no easy ascension to the top of the AFC east.

His boss has already seen to that.

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About Joe Mayes

Joe Mayes is an award-winning writer with credits ranging from national sports columns to local newspapers and commercial and technical writing. Joe is the host of "The Morning Wrap," a morning drive-time sports talk radio show on WTKE-FM in Northwest Florida.
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