DHarmony: Sparano, J.T. Form a Special Bond
From stealthy texts to long-distance pining: coach and player "feel good with each other that way"
By JANIE CAMPBELL
Updated 12:20 PM EST, Wed, May 27, 2009
If the Dolphins were a movie, we might expect Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams to show up on set to play Tony Sparano and Jason Taylor, complete with their scripts from "The Notebook."
You see, if Bill Parcells is the once-disapproving mother, and Taylor the young woman torn between her first love and attractive fiance Washington...oh, never mind. We've never even seen it. Here's the point: Taylor and Sparano are close. Really close. The kind of closeness that can't be diminished by time, distance, or $8.5 million guaranteed by a wealthy rival for Taylor's affections.
They started off as two ships passing in the night, glancing longingly at each other.
"Jason told me, 'The thing I regret most about [being traded to Washington] is that I didn't get a chance to play for Tony Sparano,'" Taylor's agent Gary Wichard told the Miami Herald.
The two began texting and calling each other. Sparano was there to encourage Taylor each week on "Dancing with the Stars," and Taylor sent his good thoughts as the Dolphins surpassed expectations on the field last season. He also told Sparano he wished he was in Miami.
Though the two cut back a little on the gushy stuff because of tampering issues, it resumed full boar upon Taylor's return to South Florida. Sparano shared the Dolphins' workout program with Taylor, who followed along on his own with a trainer, and so much more. Like feelings!
“Man to man we’ll sit and he’ll tell me how he feels and what he thinks and what he wants and what his philosophy is and I can speak very candidly to him and tell him how I think, how I feel, and my approach on certain things," Taylor said. "That open, honest, face-to-face communication is the way it could be done in any walk of life and any business -- any sport, marriage, whatever it may be."
Sometimes, it sounds like both.
“At the end of this whole thing Jason had to feel comfortable with me and I had to feel comfortable with him and we really do feel good with each other that way and I think that was really important," Sparano said. "So communication, you know all those things taking place, feeling good about the situation and then going forward from there."
Dr. Phil would be pleased (though he'd still be worthless). Meanwhile, if Sparano and Taylor go missing from practice, you know where to look for them.
They'll be sittin' in a tree.
T-E-X-T-I-N-G.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: May 26, 2009 8:42 PM EST
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