Sparano Can Make Oakland Raiders Better This Year

September 29, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders assistant head coach/offensive line coach Tony Sparano (right) acknowledges guard Mike Brisiel (65) against the Washington Redskins before the game at O.co Coliseum. The Redskins defeated the Raiders 24-14. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Identity

The  identity of a  football team actually starts at the top of the organization so it is there that the team’s personna is born. That personna is always in the image of the head coach and G.M., especially the coach so they bring in players that fit. You can clearly see that Mike Ditka’s Chicago Bears and Bill Parcells’ New York Giants matched their tough personnas in the ’80s.

McKenzie was a hard-nosed player himself in the ’80s so it bewildered me to see him bring in a coach with no identity. Allen didn’t even know what he wanted to be so he couldn’t send a clear message to his players about what he wants. The result was losing a whole lot of games and players that could have helped the Raiders so Allen was fired a couple of days ago.

Sparano was mentored by Parcells so Raiders fans can bet the Raiders will be physical and tough the rest of this year. From 2008 to 2011, the Miami Dolphins, Sparano’s first team, was a very hard-nosed, physical team and recognized for it. At first glance, you can see he looks like an old mob boss that you definitely don’t want any problems with or make angry.