Former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Tony Sparano Passes Away | Page 11 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Former Miami Dolphins Head Coach Tony Sparano Passes Away

BobDole said:
This one got me. Really speaks to the kind of person he was. Even when Jake probably knew his days in the NFL were numbered after his body had totally broken down and failed him, Sparano still stood by and believed in him. And let Jake know it. You can't teach loyalty like that.

RIP coach.
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Yes this one got me too.
 
royalshank said:
See and I feel the opposite. To me there is more dialogue than I expected given it is the offseason (traffic not as heavy on board) and that he didn’t coach for us for a real long time. I feel the FH members are here and paying their respects and it just feels “right”. The former player tweets are pretty telling as to how they felt about him as a person. Very sad to pass so young.
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Agree. Most members that are active this time of year and are aware of the news have 'chimed in and lots of them were not Tony the coach's fans but admired him more as a decent and caring human being who just happened to be our coach for a few years
 
Sirspud said:
I expected to come here and see a mountain of posts in tribute. Only four pages after two days? I guess what happens on a message board after we pass doesn't mean crap anyway, but I thought there would be more discussion about a guy who was part of pretty recent Dolphin history as a head coach no less and by all accounts seemed to be a real decent guy. I guess some still can't forgive him for blowing a 24-3 lead against the Saints.

I don't really know what to say though. Good guy, mediocre coach but at least had certifiable success with the Dolphins at some point, gone too young and without that much warning. It's hard for me to fathom that he's gone.
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Kind of suprised by this post. Considering its the quiestest part of the year and its someone who in terms of his perfomance as HC isnt exactly beloved among the wider fanbase.... personally I thought the reponses were both respectful and sincere.

Unless this thread was about someone like Don Shula, in the quietest part of the year for the site I don't think 152 posts after 24 hours is at all disrespectful. I haven't checked the exact figures but I have no doubt that this is currently the most active thread on the site.
 
royalshank said:
See and I feel the opposite. To me there is more dialogue than I expected given it is the offseason (traffic not as heavy on board) and that he didn’t coach for us for a real long time. I feel the FH members are here and paying their respects and it just feels “right”. The former player tweets are pretty telling as to how they felt about him as a person. Very sad to pass so young.
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It's not like he was an interim coach. He coached us for several seasons. He lead us to a division title that felt downright magical after seeing Wanny crash the boat, Saban flop with a whimper, and Cam Cameron making it feel like it would be impossible for the Dolphins to be good again in my lifetime. And in that whole time he was accessible, candid, and honest. He wasn't some guy like Philbin, appearing to be a decent enough guy, but whose words had the affect of wishing you just never heard them. He ate, breathed, and slept Dolphins football for 4 years as the head coach of my favorite football team, and he did it with class despite being saddled with a terrible QB of the future, poor drafting, a dictator who quit as soon as his contract allowed him to escape his failings, and a subversive owner.

Either way, I know I'm preaching to the choir and obviously people here paying their respects aren't a problem. I just felt guilty about not getting to post until now and thought there would be more happening.
 
Heart disease, both he and Klingbeil. Just wow.
 
Sirspud said:
It's not like he was an interim coach. He coached us for several seasons. He lead us to a division title that felt downright magical after seeing Wanny crash the boat, Saban flop with a whimper, and Cam Cameron making it feel like it would be impossible for the Dolphins to be good again in my lifetime. And in that whole time he was accessible, candid, and honest. He wasn't some guy like Philbin, appearing to be a decent enough guy, but whose words had the affect of wishing you just never heard them. He ate, breathed, and slept Dolphins football for 4 years as the head coach of my favorite football team, and he did it with class despite being saddled with a terrible QB of the future, poor drafting, a dictator who quit as soon as his contract allowed him to escape his failings, and a subversive owner.

Either way, I know I'm preaching to the choir and obviously people here paying their respects aren't a problem. I just felt guilty about not getting to post until now and thought there would be more happening.
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I thought Tony should have been COTY after the 1-15 turnaround but I believe it went to Mike Smith that year. Still not sure that was fair. But by the end I was ready for a coaching change though no denying his teams played hard for him and seeing their reactions is very telling as to why. I agree w your points about him being a hard worker and was crippled by Henne and poor drafting.
 
Sirspud said:
I expected to come here and see a mountain of posts in tribute. Only four pages after two days? I guess what happens on a message board after we pass doesn't mean crap anyway, but I thought there would be more discussion about a guy who was part of pretty recent Dolphin history as a head coach no less and by all accounts seemed to be a real decent guy. I guess some still can't forgive him for blowing a 24-3 lead against the Saints.
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Personally, I did not post because I was lost for words. This hit home. I'm older than Tony and have had a healthy life so far,
At my age we want to not look at death, because we are now seeing so much of it.
Hardly a week, month or year goes by that I'm at the funeral of a friend or family member. Life starts to take on a different meaning.
Sometimes for me its just to hard to discuss. RIP Tony
 
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