Tony Sparano Makes Case to Oakland Raiders in Season End Presser
By Chase Ruttig
Interim head coach Tony Sparano may be in the mix for the Oakland Raiders job going into 2015, but that wasn’t going to stop him from letting his feelings be heard about his desire to come back for the new season to finish the job he appeared to have started by getting the rebuilding team three promising home wins to end the 2014 season.
In Monday’s press conference, Sparano made his claim for the job, discussing the connection he forged with the Raiders roster this season and the journey he went on with the team after taking over the head coaching job on the interim from Dennis Allen. A journey that ended with steady improvement despite a losing record for Sparano as head coach at the end of Week 17.
"This is my team," Sparano said. #Raiders
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 29, 2014
Sparano came out firing, with numbers of first- and second-year players' snaps, and # of coaches, assistants #Raiders had last 12 years
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) December 29, 2014
Sparano also said he tries to talk to Carr frequently & about things other than football. Tony Sparano, all about the relationships.
— Asher Mathews (@AsherMathews) December 29, 2014
IMO Tony Sparano won that press conference #Raiders
— Fallon Marie Christopher (@FallonSmithTV) December 29, 2014
From Sparano’s comments it is clear that he feels he deserves to come back in 2015 and is qualified to do so, but his head coaching career hasn’t been much of a success since his first year with the Miami Dolphins. With just one playoff appearance and a losing record as a head coach, Sparano has some convincing to do with Mark Davis when it comes to earning a job with the Raiders owner having his heart set on a bigger name than his. Judging by the exit press conference, Sparano is already in the process of convincing Davis that he is the right man for the job.