Raiders officially name Tony Sparano assistant head coach, offensive line coach

Tony Sparano has worked under some very good coaches throughout the years and has a ton of experience. Much needed experience for this Raiders staff and its great to see yet another mistake that Dennis Allen made last year of not having enough experience on his staff being rectified.

Tony is best known for his 4 years as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2008-2011 before he was replaced there by Joe Philbin last year. As a head coach in the NFL his career record is 29-33 and he brought one AFC East crown to the Dolphins when he led them to an 11-5 record in his first year as their coach in 2008. It was the largest turnaround from one year to the next in NFL history.

Tony landed on his feet rather quickly as the Offensive Coordinator of the NY Jets last year but somebody had to be fired from them and since it wasn't Rex Ryan it was Tony Sparano. He wasn't very good with them but in reality that team is a total mess and is not a very good example of Sparano's coaching ability.

The Dolphins were not his only head coaching experience though. He also was the head coach at the University of New Haven for 5 years from 94-98. I like that he has this college coaching experience because with the Raiders having Reggie McKenzie as GM you can pretty much count on an influx of youth coming in. Sparano's college coaching experience could help him be able to connect with younger talent.

As for Sparano's offensive line experience that is also quite extensive. He was the OL coach at New Haven from 84-87 and the OL coach at Boston University in '88. In the NFL he was the OL coach for the Browns in 2000 and the Cowboys from '05-'07. He also was a Tight Ends coach for the Redskins, Jaguars and Cowboys between 2001 to 2004.

If you notice the NFL teams and years that he was with them you will notice that he worked under some pretty dang good coaches. For the Redskins he was under Marty Schottenheimer, for the Jags he was under Tom Coughlin, and for the Cowboys much of his time was spent under legendary coach and Hall of Famer Bill Parcels.

You will also notice all three of those coaches were known as discipline orientated coaches just like what Dennis Allen wants to be know for. That means that as an Assistant Head Coach he will be an invaluable asset to DA and what he plans to be as a head coach in the NFL.

Tony Sparano is a native of West Haven, Connecticut and has a wife and three children. He wears his sunglasses under bright lights and at press conferences because he once burned his eyes with hot oil from a deep fryer while working in a kitchen. He will begin his coaching duties right away in Mobile, Alabama where the Raiders staff is getting ready to coach the North Squad for the Senior Bowl.