Sparano a straight-talker

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http://www.miamiherald.com/616/story/520281.html

Sparano a straight-talker

By ARMANDO SALGUERO
Miami Herald

Tony Sparano might never quote Socrates or recite proverbs from the Bible, but already the Dolphins' new coach is showing a talent his last couple of predecessors apparently lacked or simply declined to display in public.  He speaks English.

After spending most of his Dallas years buried in the Bill Parcells coach protection program -- an arrangement by which assistant coaches are seen but never heard speaking in public -- Sparano has emerged as a straight-talking, easy-to-understand type of guy.

One need not rush to a dictionary to decipher what the guy is saying. One need not purchase a road map to figure out where his message is going.

And that is pretty much a fresh scent of clarity from a position that has brought much confusion, language abuse, and yes, lies, in recent years.

Sparano takes over for Cam Cameron who, bless his heart, is a good man that could never bring himself to simply say what he meant. He could never bring himself to admitting the team was rebuilding. His messages were always shrouded in mystery or double-speak.

And that was when he was at his most honest with players.

In public he made infamous such phrases as ''Fail forward fast,'' and ``Today we drafted the Ted Ginn family.''

MIXED MESSAGES

There was often a mixed message from the man who was supposed to be on point. And that was, unfortunately, not new for the Dolphins.

The two previous years also was something of a head-scratcher for anyone trying to understand the coach's message.

Nick Saban spent part of his first year in Miami saying that winning didn't matter. Improving was more about the process, he would preach, and the game's result was just an afterthought. Huh?

Saban could turn something as simple as a cornerback's backpedal into something that sounded like a dissertation. He understood Ricky Williams and Williams got him, which meant the rest of us were out of the loop.

And, of course, when he was asked to tell the truth about the most important matter in his two-year tenure, Saban could not. The coach lied about going to Alabama.

That brings us to Sparano, who undoubtedly will have to talk about many difficult issues this year as the Dolphins retool and rebuild. It cannot be an easy job explaining why a team is not yet good enough and that is what Sparano will have to do often in the coming season.

But so far, his regular-guy style works. For instance:

On Saturday the coach was asked what most jumped out at him about the current group of rookies and free agents struggling to catch the Dolphins' attention during this weekend's minicamp.

After telling those players they needed to get in better shape earlier in a team meeting, Sparano could have gone the politically correct route and simply talked about somebody's quick feet or explosiveness or some other trite football cliché.

He didn't.

''We have some guys who lack some stamina, some conditioning and some of those things,'' he said. ``As we got on in practice, you could see that show up. And the point I just tried to make to them in the meeting this morning is that this is just a small sample of what's going to happen and what lies ahead.''

Message delivered.

Sparano was asked whether the team has thought of adding a veteran left guard to stick between rookie left tackle Jake Long and second-year center Samson Satele.

''No,'' he said concisely before explaining what the team was actually thinking.

Thank you.

In the next several months the Dolphins will be faced with issues that will require they explain their stance. None of those issues promises to be more thorny than the Jason Taylor saga, the one that could include a trade or a training camp hold out or even a threatened retirement by the team's best player.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Whereas Parcells and even general manager Jeff Ireland will be able to cloak themselves from the storm because they are not mandated by the NFL to speak with the media, Sparano will get no such protection.

So, ready or not, he will be the man delivering the franchise's message.

''I understand what Jason is doing,'' Sparano said Saturday, answering the first of what promises to be a coming legion of Taylor questions.

``Jason and I have spoken and that's really all that matters. Jason and I stay in contact. As long as I know what's going on with Jason and he knows what's going on with me, I think we're in good shape.''

That is easy to understand. That is Tony Sparano.