A poignant read on Tony Sparano

[purplefaithful]

A year after his death, Tony Sparano's influence still being felt by VikingsBits and pieces of the offensive line coach's persona remain, but the Vikings' void is still palpable.The sandy shores of Hilton Head don’t attract many NFL coaches with preciously short summers. But the Caribbean or Europe never fit Tony Sparano, a man loyal to family routines.

Sparano needed Jeanette, his wife of 34 years, and their three children — Tony Jr., Andy and daughter Ryan Leigh — with him during the few days away from football, even after the kids had families of their own. Three decades of getaways to the same island off the coast of South Carolina prompted fellow coaches to question Sparano’s downtime decisions.
“People would be like, ‘Well, don’t you want to travel?’ ” Jeanette Sparano said. “And he’d say I just want to be with my wife, my kids and my grandbabies. I’m just going to sit myself in Hilton Head until it’s time to get back here and do what I do.”

A devoted 56-year-old father, masterful Vikings offensive line coach and irreplaceable confidant, Sparano died a year ago from heart disease in his Eden Prairie home. A hole as big as the Northeasterner’s personality was left in the Sparano family and Vikings coaching staff just ahead of a 2018 season that fell far short of Super Bowl expectations.
Coach Mike Zimmer said the loss of Sparano put the team, which missed the playoffs, into a downward spiral.
As the first players report Monday to Vikings training camp, Sparano’s passion and colorful expressions live on. Sparano spent two seasons in Minnesota, and players and coaches still hear echoes of his voice during practices and meetings. But his unlikeliest of football legacies, from elementary school gym teacher to the only Dolphins head coach to take the AFC East from the Patriots dynasty, is just a sliver of how those closest remember him.
http://www.startribune.com/a-year-after-...512996222/

[Guest]

The Vikings’ 2018 season never reached towering expectations, set by a trip to the NFC title game and subsequent addition of quarterback Kirk Cousins. Sparano’s absence is believed in some corners of the organization to be a big reason why a Lombardi chase ended short of the playoffs.
“Quite honestly, the death of Tony Sparano really kind of threw things into a little bit of a downward spiral,” Zimmer said Jan. 3 at his season-ending news conference. “This guy was a type-A personality. He was very innovative in the running game, had a strong voice in that room and had a strong voice with me.”
The week before training camp, Sparano texted Zimmer “all good, see you Monday” after a doctor’s visit for chest pains. He died two days later.
Sparano’s funeral was held at St. Bartholomew’s Church in Wayzata and attended by prominent NFL coaches, from the Saints’ Sean Payton to Rex and Rob Ryan.
Then, the Vikings had an impossible task of moving on, six weeks before the season opener.
“It was a major impact on this organization,” General Manager Rick Spielman said, “not only from a football perspective but who he was as a person.”
Sparano was a confidant to Zimmer and a mentor to first-year offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. Aside from masterfully pulling strings for the offensive line, Sparano coordinated a Vikings rushing attack that finished seventh during the 13-win 2017 season.
Last season, the Vikings’ 30th-ranked run game became an untenable problem between Zimmer and DeFilippo. Without Sparano, who had considerable equity with both of them, there to serve as an emissary, the differences turned into a rift that culminated in DeFilippo’s firing in December.

[Guest]

I wonder if the thinking all along was with Sparano there, he'd be a running game guru and support for JDF? I dont recall hearing or reading that? Then when that support passed-away, JDF was exposed as not having enough experience in critical elements?

[Guest]

:'(