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The Minnesota Vikings have reported that offensive line coach Tony Sparano has died at the age of 56. The Vikings have stated that his death was "sudden", and Adam Schefter is reporting that he was in the hospital on Thursday due to chest pains, released Friday, and died this morning, possibly from a heart attack but the official cause of death is not known.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...no-dies-age-56
Coach Sparano was a New Haven native and a University of New Haven graduate, class of 1984. He was a member of the first championship-winning Chargers team, the 8-0-1 1979 team that won the Division 3 New England Football Conference. He came back as the Chargers' head coach in 1994, leading them to a 41-14-1 record and the greatest season in school history, the 12-2 1997 season which saw New Haven become the smallest school ever to play for the Division 2 National Championship. After the 1998 season, he got an offer he couldn't refuse-a chance to coach in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and former New Haven head coach Chris Palmer. While mainly serving as an offensive line coach in his NFL career, he was also an NFL head coach with the Dolphins and the Raiders. His NFL record was 32-41, but he led the Dolphins to the 2008 NFL playoffs and helped introduce the "Wildcat" formation to the NFL.
His legacy at New Haven is quite strong - the football workout center is named for him, and three of his former assistants (Darren Rizzi, Peter Rossomando, and Chris Pincince) all served as assistants under Sparano and later as the Chargers' head coach. All three have winning records at New Haven and are still active coaches-Rizzi as an assistant with the Miami Dolphins, Rossomando as the head coach at Central Connecticut State, and Pincince at New Haven, where he is starting his fifth season as head coach.
On a personal note, he was the head coach during the years I attended New Haven, and being able to watch the 1997 team was a highlight of my senior year there. A team that started with low expectations took on all comers, even having a 2-1 record against Division 1 schools. While the season did end in a loss, the team is still the greatest New Haven team to take the field. Coach Sparano may be gone, but those memories certainly are not.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...no-dies-age-56
Coach Sparano was a New Haven native and a University of New Haven graduate, class of 1984. He was a member of the first championship-winning Chargers team, the 8-0-1 1979 team that won the Division 3 New England Football Conference. He came back as the Chargers' head coach in 1994, leading them to a 41-14-1 record and the greatest season in school history, the 12-2 1997 season which saw New Haven become the smallest school ever to play for the Division 2 National Championship. After the 1998 season, he got an offer he couldn't refuse-a chance to coach in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and former New Haven head coach Chris Palmer. While mainly serving as an offensive line coach in his NFL career, he was also an NFL head coach with the Dolphins and the Raiders. His NFL record was 32-41, but he led the Dolphins to the 2008 NFL playoffs and helped introduce the "Wildcat" formation to the NFL.
His legacy at New Haven is quite strong - the football workout center is named for him, and three of his former assistants (Darren Rizzi, Peter Rossomando, and Chris Pincince) all served as assistants under Sparano and later as the Chargers' head coach. All three have winning records at New Haven and are still active coaches-Rizzi as an assistant with the Miami Dolphins, Rossomando as the head coach at Central Connecticut State, and Pincince at New Haven, where he is starting his fifth season as head coach.
On a personal note, he was the head coach during the years I attended New Haven, and being able to watch the 1997 team was a highlight of my senior year there. A team that started with low expectations took on all comers, even having a 2-1 record against Division 1 schools. While the season did end in a loss, the team is still the greatest New Haven team to take the field. Coach Sparano may be gone, but those memories certainly are not.
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