Professor

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphin...svc=7&cxcat=46

Tony Sparano is assembling his first NFL cabinet quickly.

A week after being introduced as the next Dolphins head coach, scant few vacancies remain on his inaugural staff. Sparano added several assistants on what turned out to be a busy Tuesday.

Sparano's two most significant hires were Dallas Cowboys linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni as defensive coordinator and Cowboys secondary coach Todd Bowles as assistant head coach. Bowles also will handle the Dolphins secondary.

Also coming from the Cowboys was defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers.

Although the Dolphins didn't announce their hires, Pasqualoni, Bowles and Rodgers hit South Florida on Tuesday with hopes of rectifying a defense that gave up the third-most points in the NFL.

"One thing about coaches is that we love challenges," Pasqualoni told The Palm Beach Post of joining the 1-15 Dolphins. "We're going to roll up our shirtsleeves and get to work right away." But not before Sparano broke bread with them Tuesday night at the Grille 66 in Fort Lauderdale.

Sparano was expected to call on his Dallas friends. He left the Cowboys last week after five seasons. Dolphins football operations boss Bill Parcells resigned as Cowboys head coach last January.

The Dolphins also announced James Saxon as running backs coach and Evan Marcus as strength and conditioning coach. Saxon held the same role with the Kansas City Chiefs the past seven years, while Marcus spent last season with the Atlanta Falcons.

The Kansas City Star reported former UCLA coach Karl Dorrell will be the next Dolphins' receivers coach. Dorrell had narrowed his choices to the Dolphins and Chiefs and reportedly informed the Chiefs he was headed here.

Aside from any ancillary roles on Sparano's coaching staff, the only vacancies for Miami appear to be offensive coordinator and tight ends coach and, possibly, head special teams coach.

Previously hired were quarterbacks coach David Lee and offensive line coach Mike Maser. Linebackers coach George Edwards and assistant special teams coach Steve Hoffman were the only ones retained from Cam Cameron's staff.

Two-time former NFL head coach Dan Henning, a longtime associate of Parcells, was in South Florida to discuss the offensive coordinator opening.

But New York Giants quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer could remain a candidate.

Sparano worked on Palmer's staff at Boston University and broke into the NFL when Palmer became head coach of the Cleveland Browns.

Because the Giants won the NFC title on Sunday, largely thanks to the effective play of quarterback Eli Manning, the Dolphins wouldn't be able to approach Palmer until after the Super Bowl.

Pasqualoni, 58, comes to Miami after three seasons as Dallas' linebackers coach.

"I'm excited - really looking forward to the opportunity," said Pasqualoni, who also was the head coach at Syracuse University for 14 years.

Pasqualoni's record was 107-59-1 with the Orange. He guided them to nine bowl games and coached future NFL stars such as Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison, Dwight Freeney and Keith Bulluck.

Bowles, 44, played eight years in the NFL as a defensive back for the Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers. He just finished his eighth season as an NFL coach and is considered future head coach material.

Saxon is a former Dolphins running back (1992-94) who has been an NFL assistant for eight years, including the past seven tutoring Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson for the Chiefs.

Saxon, 41, coached one season with the Buffalo Bills after an eight-year playing career that included stops with Kansas City and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Dorrell, 44, was fired after five seasons at UCLA, where his record was 35-27. His best season was 2004, when the Bruins finished 13th in the coaches poll and 16th in the Associated Press writers' poll.

Dorrell's previous NFL experience includes three years as receivers coach for the Denver Broncos under Mike Shanahan.

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gruntbygod

Eh,

Personally, I dont think Sparano's has put a great staff together. Lee was a good hire, but I was a bit underwhelmed by Pasqualoni as a LB coach. I think he is a Parscells guy. On the plus side he has team management skill as a HC at SU, but I never felt he got Dallas LB corpse to play at their ability level collectivly. Ireland and BP had put together the most talented LB corpse in the NFL, and they played like one of the best, but with a 18th overall pick as your 7th LB, you should be the bext

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