Dolphins, To No One's Surprise, Settle on Sparano as Coach

The Miami Dolphins have decided to hire Tony Sparano as their head coach and the two sides were working out the final details of a contract, a source familiar with the deliberations said.

No last-minute negotiating snags were expected and an announcement should come later today, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the hiring was not official yet.

The move comes as a surprise to no one in the league. Sparano, the offensive line coach of the Dallas Cowboys, formerly worked for Dolphins front office chief Bill Parcells when Parcells coached the Cowboys. Sparano was regarded as the favorite for the job throughout the search process. The Dolphins also interviewed defensive coordinators Leslie Frazier of the Minnesota Vikings, Rex Ryan of the Baltimore Ravens and Jim Schwartz of the Tennessee Titans.

Sparano interviewed with the Dolphins on Jan. 5 and was available to be hired once the Cowboys' season ended with Sunday's playoff .loss to the New York Giants. He traveled to South Florida on Tuesday and met with Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga.

He inherits a team that went 1-15 this season under predecessor Cam Cameron, narrowly avoiding becoming the first club ever to go winless in a 16-game NFL season. The Dolphins beat the Ravens in overtime in their 14th game. Parcells was hired by Huizenga to rebuild the team and immediately began a housecleaning by firing General Manager Randy Mueller and Cameron. Parcells hired Cowboys scouting executive Jeff Ireland as his general manager and now Sparano comes aboard as coach. He becomes the Dolphins' fifth coach in five seasons following Dave Wannstedt and interim coach Jim Bates in 2004, Nick Saban in 2005 and 2006 and Cameron this season.

The Dolphins have missed the playoffs six straight seasons.

By Mark Maske |  January 16, 2008; 10:16 AM ET  | Category:  Dolphins
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