Miami — Tony Sparano once beat Bill Belichick with the single wing, but wasn’t as old as that made him sound.
Sparano was only 56 when he died unexpectedly Sunday. The Minnesota Vikings announced his death in a statement that did not provide a cause.
He had been the Vikings’ offensive line coach since 2016.
The most memorable moment in Sparano’s 19-year NFL coaching career came in 2008, when he was a rookie head coach with the Miami Dolphins, inheriting a team that had gone 1-15 the previous season. In Week 3 he surprised Belichick with a single wing-style formation that the Dolphins called the wildcat, and they won at New England 38-13.