New York Jets Officially Add New Offensive Coaches Tony Sparano and Sanjay Lal
The New York Jets continued their revamp of their 2012 coaching staff this week when they officially hired former Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano as their new offensive coordinator.
Sparano’s philosophies are a good fit for Rex Ryan and his style of physical, smash-mouth football. When he interviewed for the job, it was a no-brainer in Ryan’s eyes.
“We’re definitely like-minded coaches,” Ryan said. “We believe in running the football and protecting the quarterback. When the weather is tough in this type of area, you have to be able to run the football. If you can’t I think you struggle to win games.”
“I am a guy that believes that you have to form an identity,” Sparano said. “I want our players to be able to walk into the meeting room and not be surprised about some of the things that are going to be in the game plan each week.”
The biggest knock on Sparano is that he isn’t very experienced as a primary play-caller in the NFL. He only called plays in one season, back in 2006 with the Dallas Cowboys, although it was pretty successful.
That year, Dallas was 5th in total offense and 5th in passing offense, but also had 21 rushing touchdowns, third best in the NFL. They were a well-balanced, high-scoring unit.
“We’ll be explosive,” Sparano said. “We’ll be able to get it down the field. We’ll be able to do all those things.”
He also mentioned that he won’t be running the ball 55 times a game, but he does want to have a strong offensive identity, and that includes blowing people off the ball at the line of scrimmage.
“I learned a lesson a long time ago about how you win and lose in this league,” he said. “I believe that you have to have some element to running the football.”
That return to a run-first offense will be a good blueprint for the Jets, who used that formula their first two years under Ryan, when they went to back-to-back AFC Championship games.
That’s not an indictment on quarterback Mark Sanchez, however. He’s still the guy for the Jets, but it will be Sparano’s job to get him into the best situations possible for him to be successful.
“We’ll be able to help Mark in a lot of different ways,” Sparano said. “We want to start with some of the basic philosophies and fundamentals at the position and then go from there.”
Another new coach on the coaching staff is Sanjay Lal. He will be the new wide receivers coach after the Jets parted ways with Henry Ellard. Lal coached in Oakland the last three years.
The Jets have interviewed with former Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley for an undisclosed position on the offensive coaching staff, and he is reportedly choosing between the Jets and Arizona Cardinals.
Haley was the Cardinals’ offensive coordinator when they made their run to Super Bowl XLIII in 2008, and I imagine he would have a bigger role on the coaching staff in Arizona if he chose to go back there.
However, Haley worked for the Jets from 1995 to 2000, and he also coached alongside Sparano for three years in Dallas as a passing game coordinator.
It is possible Haley would come back to New York to work with Sparano again? The possibility is still out there. It would certainly be a nice addition to this revamped offensive coaching staff.
The Jets are moving in the right direction, as they try to come together as a team in 2012 and make another long playoff run. I’m a big fan of the Sparano hiring, and I’m excited for the future of the team.
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[...] coaching career started with the Jets in a variety of roles from 1995 to 2000, was thought to be a candidate for a passing game coordinator job, paired with his former colleague, Tony [...]
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[...] spent the last three seasons working under new Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano when he was the head man in Miami, and he did a pretty good job over [...]
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[...] really liked the hiring of former Miami Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano as the new Jets offensive coordinator. He and new offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo should give the Jets some added toughness on [...]
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[...] new Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sparano was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, he called plays for the 2006 Dallas Cowboys and did a [...]
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