Coach of the Year a tough call ... but a good one

Sports Anchor Rafer Weigel

To say the Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons exceeded expectations this year is like saying Plaxico Burress is a little nutty. It’s an understatement.

Both teams were expected to be terrible. Both went from losing seasons to the playoffs. Both were guided by rookie coaches, both of whom deserve to be crowned Coach of the Year.

Coach of the Year Mike Smith: He saved a team without the help of Bill Parcells.

On paper the Miami Dolphins look like the better story. The fish finished 1-15 last year before bringing in first-time head coach Tony Sparano. Sparano led them upstream to an impressive 11-5 mark and a highly unexpected AFC East title before falling to Baltimore in the playoffs Sunday. That 10-win improvement ties the record for the best season turnaround in NFL history.

Then there’s the Falcons. The Dirty Birds were dusting off the stains of a 4-12 season marred by quarterback Michael Vick going to prison for dog fighting and their coach Bobby Petrino walking out on them after only 13 games.

Newbie Mike Smith came in and with a rookie quarterback in Matt Ryan helped them soar to an 11-5 record and an NFC wildcard berth playing in arguably the toughest division top to bottom—the NFC South.

If they gave an award to a coach in each conference, picking these two would be a no-brainer (with apologies to John Harbaugh of Baltimore). But as they say in the movie Highlander, “there can only be one.”

And, it seems choosing which one was about as easy as choosing a Senate seat in Minnesota. Smith garnered 23.5 of the votes while Sparano grabbed 22.5. I didn’t realize you could give half a vote. Apparently one writer was so torn, he or she voted for both of them?

Even though the Fins had a bigger turnaround—going from worst to first—I agree with the decision to give Smith the nod.

By all accounts, Sparano is a heck of a coach—a guy who gets his players fired up in a way few coaches can. But team Vice President Bill Parcells—aka the Big Tuna—had just as much to do with the Dolphins turnaround as Sparano did.

When Parcells was given the keys to the team he made bold moves including hiring an offensive line coach with no experience in Sparano.

Then he shuffled off “Dancing with the Stars” star Jason Taylor to Washington and cut ties with veteran linebacker Zach Thomas. He put in his version of the 3-4 defense which allowed linebacker Joey Porter to go from 5 sacks to a career-high 17 sacks this year. And when Brett the Jet took over in New York, Big Bill grabbed castoff Chad Pennington and watched him become Comeback Player of the Year.

Turning teams around is what the Tuna does. In 1996, the Jets also went 1-15. In came Parcells and two years later they’re in the AFC Championship.

The 1992 Patriots went 2-14. Four years later, Parcells took them to the Super Bowl.

In 1983, Tuna’s first season as head coach of the Giants he went 3-12-1. Three years later, they won the Super Bowl.

So even though Parcells was content to hide in the shadows while Sparano lead the team his shadow still loomed. And that’s probably why that one vote for Smith cost Sparano the prestigious award.

Call it a Tuna eclipse.