How Sparano Saved Romo’s Value
January 19, 2008 at 7:10 pm | Article by Paul Hickey |
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| As the NFL’s game of coaching musical chairs continues, the Miami Dolphins finally made a decision as to who to bring in as their new front man. Really, there was only one name under consideration, and the only reason that the process took so long was because the Dallas Cowboys had to be eliminated from the playoffs before it could take motion. To nobody’s surprise, VP of Football Operations Bill Parcells hand picked his former offensive line/running game coordinator Tony Sparano, a man he worked with for four seasons in Dallas, to take over the `Phins. Sparano is a Parcells guy, who was promoted to assistant head coach last season when the Tuna was replaced by Wade Phillips. Sparano’s spiral started with the firing of Cam Cameron and Randy Mueller, the franchise’s former head coach and GM, respectively, and has seemingly ended with Jason Garrett getting promoted in Dallas, thus completely saving the fantasy value of Cowboys’ 26 year old flashy signal caller Tony Romo.
Romo’s keeper owners can indirectly thank Parcells for hiring Sparano away, thus prompting Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to make Garrett one of the highest paid assistant coaches in NFL history, and virtually promise him the main set of headphones in Big D as soon as the Wade Phillips era ends. The pay raise and promise were enough to prompt Garrett to turn down head coaching offers in Atlanta and Baltimore – both franchises with solid ownership groups committed to winning. Now that the NFL’s hottest young offensive mind will stay in Dallas, expect the innovation to continue and the already brilliant play-calling to only get better. This will directly result in the impending stability of the Dallas offense and the improvement of Romo as a professional QB. In other words, fantasy owners should expect Jessica Simpson’s boyfriend to at minimum duplicate his 2007 numbers of 4,211 yards and 36 passing TDs. Romo threw a TD pass every 14 attempts last season, and Garrett will see to it that he continues to efficiently find open receivers, whether they are named Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn – or more likely Jason Witten, Patrick Crayton or Sam Hurd.
One name I didn’t mention in that last paragraph was Anthony Fasano. The talented 6’5” former Parcells draft pick from Notre Dame could be on his way to South Beach this off-season to rejoin Sparano and the Tuna. Sparano was the Cowboys tight ends coach prior to Fasano joining the squad, and played a large role in tutoring and developing the youngster over the past two seasons. Fasano has the ability and intelligence to be a Jason Witten-type force, and Miami has absolutely zero talent at tight end right now. Sorry David Martin and Justin Peelle, but you’re just not getting the job done my friends.
In addition to Sparano’s knack for developing tight ends, he is one heck of an offensive line coach. So much so, in fact, that Parcells was comfortable with canning one of the NFL’s best O-line minds in Hudson Houck prior to hiring Sparano.
While the impact on the Dolphins offense will be evident in that the running game will improve, and the tight ends will become more involved in a conservative passing attack, there will also be a significant change in the Dolphins’ defensive philosophy. Not only are Parcells and Sparano each fans of the 3-4 alignment, but former Cowboys secondary coach Todd Bowles and linebackers coach Paul Pasqualini join Sparano in Miami, and Jeff Ireland and Brian Gaine have migrated to South Beach as well to help Parcells run the Dolphins front office, after recent stints in Dallas. This will inevitably result in the Dolphins switching to a 3-4 defense, where Jason Taylor will likely be moved to outside linebacker – causing his fantasy value to plummet – and Joey Porter will return to his natural position that he became so accustomed to in Pittsburgh under Dick Lebeau and Bill Cowher. Zach Thomas could be run out of town, as he’s a traditional 3-4 MLB, and third year man Channing Crowder will have to make a Jonathan Vilma-esque transition.
So, while things will remain status quo in Dallas and Romo’s keeper owners count their blessings, there are more major changes on the horizon in Miami. The Dolphins have the number one overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, and I guarantee you they will not use it on an offensive player. There are holes to be filled at QB, WR and TE, but even more on defense. Don’t be surprised if more Parcells guys like Julius Jones – an unrestricted free agent – and even Keyshawn Johnson end up in a Dolphins uniform next season.
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