Jim Harbaugh and Tony Sparano: A Tale of Two Head Coaches

January 6, 2011   ·   Adam Waldman   ·   Jump to comments

Tony Sparano’s path to becoming an NFL head coach was long and winding.  His coaching career started in 1984 as an offensive line coach at the Univesity of New Haven.  In 1994, after a five-year stint at Boston University, Sparano returned to the University of New Haven to become a head coach for the first time.
The following year, the Cleveland Browns made Sparano the offensive quality control coach.  While it may not sound like a glamorous position, it was quite a jump from the University of New Haven to the NFL.  He stayed in that position for a year, and was then elevated to offensive line coach of the Browns.
In 2001, Sparano was hired as the tight ends coach for the Washington Redskins.  The following year, he held the same position for Jacksonville Jaguars.
In 2003, when Sparano was hand-picked by Bill Parcells to be the tight ends coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he started to make a name for himself.  After moving around every yea...

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