When all the dust clears, it’s likely that Tony Sparano will return to coach the Miami Dolphins and feel fortunate to still have a head coaching job in the NFL. However, that doesn’t mean the relationship between he and Miami owner Stephen Ross won’t be strained. Why shouldn’t it be? The Dolphins have been openly and actively considering new candidates for their head coaching position — a position that has remain filled by Sparano the entire time.
Miami is 25-23 in three seasons under Sparano. That record is nothing phenomenal, but it’s not all that poor either. Whether or not he deserves to remain the coach of the Dolphins is beside the point. While Sparano was still under contract with the team, Miami was courting Jim Harbaugh and setting up meetings with Eric Mangini. Harbaugh has since accepted a position to coach the 49ers and Ross insists the meeting with Mangini was for nothing more than to pick his brain as a “consultant” who has intimate knowledge of the AFC East, but I doubt any of this talk made Sparano feel all warm and tingly.
According to Pro Football Talk, the Dolphins may end up making a “financial apology” to Sparano now that they realize he is their best option and don’t want to fire him afterall.
The bottom line is Miami’s front office has handled the situation in a completely unprofessional manner. News is now circulating that Sparano will be “back” next season, but the problem is he never left. Teams are never allowed to talk to other players who are under contract with other teams, so why should they be allowed to interview coaching candidates when they don’t have an open position? If I were Sparano, I’d make sure that “financial apology” had a lot of zeros on the end of it.
