[officialsbaseball]

Tony Sparano once beat Bill Belichick with the single wing Terron Armstead Jersey , 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.

The wildcat became a fad around the league, and the stunning upset propelled Sparano's team to 11 wins and the AFC East title. It's one of two playoff berths for the franchise since 2002.

That was Sparano's lone winning season, and he was fired in 2011 after going 29-32 in Miami. He was popular with his players, but a dismal home record, declining attendance and a falling-out with general manager Jeff Ireland accelerated his firing by owner Stephen Ross.

Sparano was the Oakland Raiders' interim head coach in 2014 after the team fired Dennis Allen, and he went 3-9. He also worked as an assistant for the Browns, Redskins, Jaguars, Cowboys and 49ers Charles Harris Jersey , and most recently for Vikings coach Mike Zimmer.

"I love Tony Sparano," Zimmer said in a statement. "He was a great teacher, a grinder of a worker and had a toughness and fighting spirit that showed in our linemen. He was a great husband, father and grandfather and a great friend to me. This is just sinking in for us, but Tony will be sorely missed by all."

Sparano's former players also paid tribute.

"Heart broken and lost for words! We lost a great man," tweeted Brian Hartline, who played receiver for Sparano in Miami.

"Damn I'm at a loss for words," tweeted Raiders Pro Bowl tackle Donald Penn. "Coach Sparano taught me so much not just about football about life also."

Sparano played at the University of New Haven where he was a four-year letterman. He was hired as New Haven's head coach in 1994 and held that position for five seasons.

In Miami, Sparano lost his first two games before turning to the wildcat. Six times they ran plays from the formation at New England, snapping the ball directly to running back Ronnie Brown, and four of those plays resulted in touchdowns.

"It was like playing hide and go seek, making them guess Terence Newman Jersey ," Brown said at the time.

Sparano said the Dolphins began practicing the wildcat during training camp but waited until the Patriots game to spring it.

"This is not something that just came up and we scribbled on the board a couple of days ago," the coach said.

Defenses soon adjusted, and a sputtering offense in Sparano's final two seasons at Miami contributed to his firing. But the Dolphins haven't won at New England since the wildcat game.

"We were saddened to learn of Tony Sparano's tragic and unexpected passing," owner Ross said in a statement. "Tony made an indelible impact on our team's history. His toughness, grit and leadership were evident to everyone who had the chance to coach with or play for him."

The Latest on the NFL combine (all times EST):

2:15 p.m.

Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst says that the team would like to extend the contract of quarterback Aaron Rodgers ”sooner rather than later.”

Gutekunst was asked about the two-time NFL MVP at the combine. He says that the team realizes it’s ”not going to be inexpensive.”

Rodgers is under contract through the 2019 season following a five-year extension signed in 2013 that boosted his annual average salary to $22 million, making him the highest-paid player in the league back then.

The 34-year old Rodgers has since been passed by other players, including the five-year deal worth a reported $137.5 million that quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo agreed to with the San Francisco 49ers.

Gutekunst says that taking care of Rodgers is a high priority, ”and I think that should take care of itself at some point.”

Gutekunst is in his first year as the Packers GM after replacing Ted Thompson.

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1:45 p.m.

Browns coach Hue Jackson hopes to avoid starting a rookie quarterback in 2018.

Cleveland owns the No. 1 overall pick, and is expected to use it to select a quarterback from a talented group that includes Southern Cal’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Wyoming’s Josh Allen.

The Browns will use this week’s combine to evaluate that foursome and other top players.

Last season, the Browns started rookie DeShone Kizer DeVante Parker Jersey , who went 0-15 as the Browns became the second team in NFL history to lose all 16 games.

”I would hope not,” Jackson said when asked if he intends to start a rookie QB. ”There’s going to be other opportunities as we all know. We just go to see how it all fits as we move forward.”

The Browns are expected to be active in free agency and it’s possible they’ll land their starting quarterback there. Jackson refused to comment on Cleveland’s intended targets, but one of them is certain to be Cincinnati quarterback AJ McCarron. The Browns were poised to acquire McCarron in a trade last season before the deal was scrapped because the teams failed to file paperwork with the league on time.

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1:30 p.m.

The Chicago Bears plan to part ways with quarterback Mike Glennon.

General manager Ryan Pace said the Bears will release him rather than bring him back for a second season after he lost his starting job to rookie Mitchell Trubisky.

Pace, speaking at the NFL combine, said a mechanism in Glennon’s contract prevents the Bears from letting him go until the start of the league’s calendar year on March 14. The Bears were also releasing linebacker Willie Young.

Glennon left Tampa Bay to sign a three-year contract with the Bears last March and replace Jay Cutler as the starter. He went 1-3 with five interceptions, three lost fumbles and four touchdown passes before Trubisky – the No. 2 overall draft pick – took over.

”We were going to be aggressive at that position,” Pace said. ”We were going to take swings at that position and be aggressive at the most important position, really, in sports. There are multiple factors that go into that. But really, what stands out, as I look back, was Mitch’s acceleration Durham Smythe Jersey , too.

”So, it was kind of twofold. So I can sit back now and be happy that we have a guy that we feel good about, a young quarterback that we want to build around.”

A triceps injury limited Young to four games last season. He had 26 sacks in four seasons with Chicago, giving him 32 in eight years with the Bears and Detroit Lions.

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1 p.m.

The NFL’s competition committee is meeting in Indianapolis this week and the group is looking into ways to redefine the troublesome catch rule. The committee also is entertaining the notion of turning the defensive pass interference call into a 15-yard penalty.

It’s currently a spot of foul flag.

At least one head coach is certain the league won’t mess with that rule.

Broncos coach Vance Joseph was among the first coaches to step to the podium at the NFL combine and he says the catch rule certainly needs to be addressed.

But Joseph insists there’s no way the NFL would follow the NCAA’s lead in making defensive pass interference a 15-yard infraction instead of putting the ball at the spot of the foul.

Joseph says pro football fans like seeing points scored and if that rule is changed, there will be ”a lot of defensive backs grabbing and pulling guys, so that’s not going to change.”

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11 a.m.

Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott says cutting quarterback Tyrod Taylor is not part of the team’s current plans, though he won’t rule out trading the three-year starter.

McDermott says it’s too early to remove any option off the table ”other than cutting him at this point,” in answering a question as to whether the Bills would consider trading Taylor. ”We’re in a good position with some options out there, so that’ll work itself out,” he added at the NFL combine on Wednesday.

Taylor’s future in Buffalo remains in question even though he helped lead the Bills to a 9-7 record and clinch the team’s first playoff berth since 1999. Taylor has a 23-21 record with the Bills and went 8-6 last season while also being benched for one game in favor of rookie Nathan Peterman.

The Bills considered cutting Taylor last March before the quarterback agreed to restructure his contract by reducing it from a five-year to a two-year term.

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