Why is Tony Sporano a good coach?

[NBP81]

Damn I hated X-Pac at first with his guy sucks comments but I gotta admit... I like the guy now... Not the smarter in the bunch but always up for a good laugh...

 

[Fl_Neil]

He isn't a good couch. If henne doesn't pan out what does sparano have ? Pat white I D K> You know the better QB just watching pre-season is freaking pennington.
Hennes has sucked some .... At least pennington knows how to run the offense and make some plays.

 

[Huffer]

Why because he got lucky and made it too the playoffs after a 1-15 season? I would like you guys to actually quantify what makes him a good coach? Because in my opinion he adds nothing to this team. Completely ordinary. Now Dont start bashing me without making an argument. You can take shots at me only if you bring something to the table.

What has he done to make him a stand out coach?

This is a classic post. You are basing your argument on your own opinion. So are we supposed to argue our opinion against your opinion or do those that like him actually have to use facts about what he has accomplished? Which of course all facts (like the one you posted about going 11-5 and making the playoffs) will be refuted by your "opinion" and chalked up to luck. If this is going to be the logic used to argue over if Tony is a good coach or not... then I might as well get right to the "liar liar pants on fire" defense.

Seriously..... expecting a coach to make it to the playoffs every year or off with his head might be getting a little greedy. Expecting any coach to take a 1-15 team and win back to back division titles as well as make back to back playoff appearances might be getting greedy. Who in here thinks Sean Payton is a good HC? Most likely everyone(myself included). His first year 10-6 and played the Bears in the NFC Championship game. Year two 7-9 the armchair GM's from this message board would have fired him or had him on a playoffs or fired hot seat. Year three 8-8 all the Sparano bashers posting here now would have kicked Payton to the curb! Remember he is going through all of this with Drew Brees! Not a savy vet lacking an arm or a fresh arm with no experience. Dirk you and WV would have been riding your high horses all over him and doing atomic drops from your soap boxes as you ran him out of town! And what would you have missed...... year four 13-3 and super bowl champs. No sense throwing our lottery ticket in the garbage until we take the time to scratch it. It takes time to build a team. IMO hiring a new coach every 2-3 years is the quickest way to the bottom in the NFL. Hard to build something big if you keep changing the blue prints. So who are all the coaches in the league that are so much better than Tony? Who are the coaches we may be able to hire that some seem to think need to take over?

 

[MD]

No, it is ridiculous because it is ridiculous. You just cannot see it because of YOUR opinion. He took over a team that was 1-15, and improved that to 11-5. That shows good coaching, does it not? Then he took a team that lost their starting QB during week 3, lost their Pro Bowl Running Back and lost their #1 CB. Don't forget we had the most difficult schedule in the NFL last year, and went 7-9. What other team could do that? Could Dallas - No. Could the Saints lose Drew Brees, Pierre Thomas and say Darren Sharper and make the playoffs? No. How would have the Colts done with that same situation. Take some of your own advice and give some reasons why he is not that good of a coach!

Snake, tell me you are not comparing Pennington to Manning and Brees. As I pointed out above that the success of the 2008 season would develop a strong bond for some fans that would be hard to break. But look at this realistically.

1. The 2008 schedule was the easiest in the NFL.

2. Calling a TO to help the Saints set up a first and goal play at the end of the first half was not a wise move.

3. Calling a TO after a change of possession was embarrassing. If Rex Ryan did that we would be all over him.

4. Starting 0-2 and 0-3 respectively puts you in a hole that is tough to overcome. We can't afford to do that this season because the first half of the schedule is brutal. If we don't come out strong there is a possibility that we could be eliminated by week 9. As noted above, you have to play your best football in December which for us include some weaker teams but if we can't beat the better teams early, it will be a repeat of the 2008 playoff game.

I do like the way that he motivates players but that doesn't happen on a consistent basis. As quick as you can say look at the comeback against the Titans, I can spit out look at the pathetic performance at Buffalo. I am not saying fire him now, but if this season is a failure, that has to be a consideration.

If the Dolphins beat themselves at Buffalo next Sunday it will be because they are not prepared. That falls on the HC and it wouldn't be the first time. How strong will that bond be with fans who are staring at the real possibility of starting 0-2 again with the Jets, Pats, Ravens and Steelers in the coming weeks?

 

[MD]

Sparano holds players accountable. He sees flaws in his assistant coaches too. As well does the FO. PP is not here any longer for those reasons. He brings fire and instills positive attitude. He is a OL tactician. As long as we have an adequate talent level we will be fine there in the long run. The slow starts have to stip. One knock is not settling in on at certain positions sooner than later.
Make a decision with white. And, let Nolan run the D without interference. But hold him accountable and address issues with Nolan if the D falters. On the last few points there is cautious optimism that Tony S. will get it right.

So at what point does he hold Bono accountable? Our ST team play has been less then adequate in the 2 seasons he has been here.

Henning's play calling has been questionable at times yet it continues.

He didn't have a choice with PP because he probably would have been canned if he didn't do something.

 

[SnakeoilSeller]

Snake, tell me you are not comparing Pennington to Manning and Brees. As I pointed out above that the success of the 2008 season would develop a strong bond for some fans that would be hard to break. But look at this realistically.

1. The 2008 schedule was the easiest in the NFL.

2. Calling a TO to help the Saints set up a first and goal play at the end of the first half was not a wise move.

3. Calling a TO after a change of possession was embarrassing. If Rex Ryan did that we would be all over him.

4. Starting 0-2 and 0-3 respectively puts you in a hole that is tough to overcome. We can't afford to do that this season because the first half of the schedule is brutal. If we don't come out strong there is a possibility that we could be eliminated by week 9. As noted above, you have to play your best football in December which for us include some weaker teams but if we can't beat the better teams early, it will be a repeat of the 2008 playoff game.

I do like the way that he motivates players but that doesn't happen on a consistent basis. As quick as you can say look at the comeback against the Titans, I can spit out look at the pathetic performance at Buffalo. I am not saying fire him now, but if this season is a failure, that has to be a consideration.

If the Dolphins beat themselves at Buffalo next Sunday it will be because they are not prepared. That falls on the HC and it wouldn't be the first time. How strong will that bond be with fans who are staring at the real possibility of starting 0-2 again with the Jets, Pats, Ravens and Steelers in the coming weeks?

No, I am not. I don't think anyone compares to Peyton Manning. However, I am saying what would happen to MOST NFL teams if they lost their starting QB? Take that further, would the Colts and or the Saints have been Super Bowl Teams if they would have lost their starting QB during the third game of the season? I did not say he was perfect, no one is. I just think when you are judging Sparano's body of work as a head coach and looking at the 2 years, you have to factor in the injuries and think (it is hard for fans to actually think sometimes) about what he has been able to accomplish and with what players. The guy should have been the COY in 2008. He has a winning record over the 2 years. Successful franchises in the NFL have stability in the Front Office and the coaching staff. You dont get that by firing questions with winning records. If the team implodes this season then I am sure that it would be looked at, but anything short of that would be a mistake in my humble opinion. And who would the FO get to replace him that would do so much better?

 

[SnakeoilSeller]

Sean Paytons record as a Head Coach:

2006: 10-6 (went 1-1 in playoffs)

2007: 7-9

2008: 8-8

2009: 13-3 (won Super Bowl)


So he was 25-23 (regular season) after 3 years. Think the Saints are happy they did not fire him after 3 seasons?

 

[tazthenomad]

So at what point does he hold Bono accountable? Our ST team play has been less then adequate in the 2 seasons he has been here.

Henning's play calling has been questionable at times yet it continues.

He didn't have a choice with PP because he probably would have been canned if he didn't do something.

There are a lot of things that I like about Coach S but there are two things that I don't.

1. Slow starts both years. Whether that is him or the assistant coaches - see point #2 below, it's still on him.
2. Holding assistant coaches accountable. Who didn't think that PP should have been fired after the first year? Special teams coverage has been consistently poor. (On the bright side, we found good kickers!)

A head coach doesn't make all the personnel decisions so I won't go there about draft choices like Pat White but he does have control over his assistants and IMO that is more important over the long run than the silly mistakes with the time outs, etc. that have already been brought up.

 

[Huffer]

Who are the coaches that are so much better than Tony? Who are the coaches available that you guys that don't like him want to replace him with?
I love how the biggest gripe is Tony didn't use a timeout properly in two or three situations and it may have cost us the game or like the OP said he brings nothing to the team. Any of you guys ever hear of the wildcat before Tony got here? You complain about the special teams..... I remember a Jets game where our special teams won us the game. Everyone thinks the Jets special teams coach is a god.... Bono got the better of him. Any one here think Belichick is a good coach? How the heck could he let an inferior coach like Tony that took over a 1-15 team, while his team had just went 17-0, go 2-2 against him in his two years at the helm of the Dolphins. Seriously guys if you look at the facts any argument against Tony is very weak. If we are going to argue using opinions.... well then lets just agree to disagree.