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Title: Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano wins over his team Post by: DolFan619 on September 03, 2008, 04:25:32 pm http://www.miamiherald.com/1262/story/669309.html
Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano wins over his team By BARRY JACKSON Miami Herald The suspicion was there, even among some players, initially: Would Tony Sparano command respect on his own or would he simply be considered a puppet for Bill Parcells? ''I could easily see how that could be the case -- a young first-time coach under The Big Tuna, everyone could think that,'' Vonnie Holliday said. But that is not the way the Dolphins have come to view their coach, Holliday and others say. They see a man who ''commands attention in this room,'' as Holliday put it -- and is confident, demanding but fair, and not peering over his shoulder at the all-powerful Parcells. ''He's his own man, runs his own program. And everyone knows it,'' Yeremiah Bell said. Even before his regular-season head coaching debut Sunday, Sparano has achieved an important victory: He has won the respect of his players -- something Cam Cameron never fully achieved, and something Nick Saban had for a time, but lost. ''He changed the whole attitude of the team,'' Bell said, noting Sparano pushes players a ''lot harder'' than Cameron did. 'Like he tells us, `Sometimes, I can be a nice guy. Sometimes I can be a mean guy.' As players, we appreciate when someone tells us when we're doing something wrong. We needed people who would jump in our face. Last year, guys were taking it light because they knew nobody would.'' What's more, the quality of coaching is better than it was last year, cornerback Andre' Goodman asserted. ''I know more about the game now,'' Goodman said. Bell said Sparano and his assistants ''are more serious, more to the point than last year's'' coaches and do better correcting mistakes. One reason players have taken to Sparano's in-your-face style is they see the team's progress and know they went nowhere with Cameron's approach. ''Coach Sparano yelled more in the first meeting than Cameron did all last year,'' Channing Crowder said. ``He commands more respect.'' And ''what he'll tell me,'' Joey Porter noted, ``is the same thing he'll tell the last guy on the team. That's a big factor. That sends a message.'' The reason players do not resent Sparano's sideline eruptions, Boomer Grigsby said, is ``he never attacks you personally, never cusses you out. He's trying to make us better. He can chew a little [butt] and not lose respect. And there's not a lot of rah-rah. Everyone has had a boss that talks too much. You don't need gladiator moments -- that's for the movies.'' Holliday and Vernon Carey see similarities with Saban: ''They strike a little fear,'' Carey said. But the difference, Holliday said, is Sparano ``is not quite as controlling as Saban. You can always approach Sparano no matter who you are.'' Title: Re: Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano wins over his team Post by: YoFuggedaboutit on September 03, 2008, 04:29:06 pm Good. Not the egomaniac Nick Saban was, but not the softie Cam Cameron was.
Title: Re: Miami Dolphins coach Tony Sparano wins over his team Post by: Defense54 on September 03, 2008, 07:52:44 pm Yep. I don't think anyone is staying behind in any cities or giving him an ass chewing on the plane.......... ::)
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