4 things to know about Colts’ assistant OL coach Chris Watt

Here are four things to know about Colts new assistant offensive line coach Chris Watt.

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen moved swiftly to fill his staff, and another coach with ties to Notre Dame has been hired. The team will bring former Chargers offensive lineman and Notre Dame graduate assistant Chris Watt aboard.

Watt will partner with Tony Sparano Jr. to oversee offensive line efforts on the heels of former Colts offensive line coach Chris Strausser joining the Houston Texans.

Let’s take a look at four things to know about Chris Watt:

3 things to know about Colts’ new OL coach Tony Sparano Jr.

Here are three things to know about Colts new OL coach Tony Sparano Jr.

New Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen is continuing to bolster up his coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball with the latest addition of Tony Sparano Jr. as his offensive line coach.

With Steichen calling plays on Sundays, this could arguably be the most important hire that the new head coach has made in his first weeks on the job. Sparano Jr. will be tasked to help fix the Colts’ offensive line, which was once one of the most respected units just a couple of seasons ago.

Here are three things to know about him:

Colts to hire Tony Sparano Jr. as offensive line coach

The Colts are expected to hire Tony Sparano Jr. as the new offensive line coach.

The Indianapolis Colts are expected to hire New York Giants assistant offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. as their new offensive line coach, according to Art Stapleton of The Record.

While the Colts also had eyes on Philadelphia Eagles assistant offensive line coach Roy Istvan, it seems they landed with Sparano Jr., who is the son of the former NFL offensive line coach and former head coach of the Miami Dolphins (2008-2011).

After playing defensive end for the University of Albany, Sparano Jr. got his start in the NFL as an offensive quality control coach with the Dolphins in 2011, the final year his father was the head coach.

He then spent three seasons with the New York Jets as an intern (2012-2013) and offensive assistant (2014). Sparano Jr. then spent two seasons as the tight ends coach for the Buffalo Bills (2015-2016).

After that, Sparano Jr. was hired as the assistant offensive line coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, a role he held for four seasons (2017-2020). He spent a season with the Carolina Panthers (2021) and New York Giants (2022) as an assistant offensive line coach.

The coaching staff is far from complete, but the group is starting to come together. You can keep up to date with the latest news and coaching hires via our tracker.

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Report: Giants lose assistant OL coach Tony Sparano Jr. to Colts

New York Giants assistant offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. is joining Shane Steichen’s staff in Indianapolis.

The New York Giants lost running backs coach DeAndre Smith to the Indianapolis Colts earlier this month but he won’t be the only one.

Art Stapleton of USA TODAY reports that assistant offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. is also joining Shane Steichen’s staff in Indy.

Sparano Jr., who is the son of former NFL head coach Tony Sparano, was hired by head coach Brian Daboll last year. He spent the 2021 season with the Carolina Panthers. Prior to that, he had stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2017-2020), Buffalo Bills (2015-2016), New York Jets (2012-2014), and Miami Dolphins (2011).

During his time in Miami, Sparano Jr. served as offensive quality control coach under Daboll, who was the offensive coordinator at the time.

Before making it into the NFL, Sparano Jr. spent a year as assistant offensive line coach of the UFL’s Hartford Colonials.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Sparano Jr. went on to attend college at the University of Albany — roughly an hour from East Rutherford — where he also played defensive end.

The Giants are expected to retain offensive line coach Bobby Johnson, but will need to hire him an assistant.

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Giants hire Laura Young, announce partial coaching staff

The New York Giants have hired Laura Young as director of coaching operations and officially revealed a portion of their coaching staff.

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The New York Giants announced some additions to their coaching staff on Friday.

Big Blue officially named their coordinators under new head coach Brian Daboll: Mike Kafka (offense), Don “Wink” Martindale (defense) and Thomas McGaughey (special teams).

The team also subsequently announced the hiring of some key assistants:

  • Quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney
  • Running backs coach DeAndre Smith
  • Wide receivers coach Mike Groh
  • Tight ends coach Andy Bischoff
  • Offensive line coach Bobby Johnson
  • Asst. offensive line coach Tony Sparano, Jr.
  • Defensive line coach Andre Patterson

In addition, the Giants announced that Laura Young has been hired as the team’s director of coaching operations. Young will be involved in “every aspect of football operations, including coordinating/organizing practice, as well as game day operations.”

“(Young will) have her hands all over the organization in terms of the coaching side,” Daboll said. “She’s with me every step of the way. She’s a rock star really, and I feel very fortunate that I get to work with her each day because she provides just a tremendous amount of support and value to really everyone, but myself the most, I would say.

“She’s smart, there’s really not a job she can’t do and a job she won’t do. That’s her mindset. Very humble, egoless, but driven, smart. I just think she’s the best.”

Daboll took a unique approach to assembling his staff. He leveraged several relationships from his time as offensive coordinator in Buffalo, but also hired coaches he had no prior relationship with.

“I think what you try to do when you’re putting together a staff, whether that be an offensive staff in a smaller form or the entire staff, you try to put together a group of people that will complement one another, whether that’s experience, whether that’s energy, whether that’s detail, whether that’s passion,” Daboll said. “You don’t want to have a cookie cutter approach and hire everybody that’s exactly the same. I think that you have to offset blind spots.”

Daboll will continue to add to his staff over the next week or two as the Giants prepare for the NFL combine later this month and free agency which begins in mid-March.

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Report: Giants to hire Tony Sparano Jr. as assistant O-Line coach

The New York Giants intend to hire Tony Sparano Jr., previously of the Carolina Panthers, as their assistant offensive line coach.

The New York Giants are expected to hire Bobby Johnson as their next offensive line coach, and now they appear to have his assistant lined up.

Jonathan Alexander of the Charlotte Observer reports that the Giants intend to hire Tony Sparano Jr. to Brian Daboll’s coaching staff.

Sparano Jr., who is the son of former NFL head coach Tony Sparano, spent last season with the Carolina Panthers. Prior to that, he had stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars (2017-2020), Buffalo Bills (2015-2016), New York Jets (2012-2014) and Miami Dolphins (2011).

During his time in Miami, Sparano Jr. served as offensive quality control coach under then-offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

Before making it into the NFL, Sparano Jr. spent a year as assistant offensive line coach of the UFL’s Hartford Colonials.

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Sparano Jr. went on to attend college at the University of Albany — roughly an hour from East Rutherford — where he also played defensive end.

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Panthers losing third coach this week to another lateral move

Panthers HC Matt Rhule has yet another position to fill, as offensive line assistant Tony Sparano Jr. is headed to the New York Giants.

An NFL head coach’s work is never done . . . or at least that’s what it feels like for Matt Rhule right now.

As first reported on Thursday morning by Jonathan Alexander of the Charlotte ObserverCarolina Panthers offensive line assistant Tony Sparano Jr. is the latest position coach to leave town. He, like Frisman Jackson and Jason Simmons before him, will be taking up the same post elsewhere. In his case, it’ll be back up north with the New York Giants.

The move makes Sparano Jr. a one-and-done in Carolina, as he came over at the start of the 2021 campaign after four years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Rhule, along with new Panthers offensive line coach James Campen, will now have to find themselves a replacement for the opening as the team looks to revamp its struggling unit.

Rhule, who filled the void at defensive passing game coordinator/secondary coach yesterday by bringing back Steve Wilks, has spots to address with Sparano Jr.’s departure and for his wide receivers with Jackson’s jump to the Pittsburgh Steelers this past Tuesday.

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Panthers announce 2 additions, 1 subtraction from Matt Rhule’s staff

The Carolina Panthers have announced some changes to head coach Matt Rhule’s staff.

The Carolina Panthers have announced some changes to head coach Matt Rhule’s staff. Last week, it was reported the team was hiring Sean Ryan to be their quarterbacks coach and Tony Sparano Jr. to be their assistant offensive line coach. Carolina made that news official in today’s release.

Ryan’s arrival has raised speculation that the team will attempt to trade for either Deshaun Watson or Matt Stafford, who he worked with in his previous stops in Houston and Detroit. Ryan replaces Jake Peetz, who has been hired to be the offensive coordinator at LSU.

Sparano has been coaching in the NFL since 2011 when he was a part of his father’s staff in Miami. He held the same position for the Jaguars the last four seasons and is taking the place of Marcus Satterfield, who’s been hired by South Carolina to be their OC.

In addition, the Panthers announced defensive line coach Mike Phair will not return in 2021. A replacement has not been named or reported at this time. The team’s statement says assistant defensive line coach Frank Okam will be working with the defensive line prospects at the Senior Bowl this week.

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Report: Panthers hire Tony Sparano Jr. as assistant offensive line coach

The team has also hired Tony Sparano Jr. to be an assistant offensive line coach, per the Charlotte Observer.

The Carolina Panthers have made a couple of hires to help fill out Matt Rhule’s staff, which has lost several assistants the last few weeks. According to multiple reports, the team has hired former Houston Texans, New York Giants and Detroit Lions quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan to fill that position. Ryan replaces Jake Peetz, who is now LSU’s offensive coordinator.

The team is also hiring Tony Sparano Jr. to be an assistant offensive line coach, per the Charlotte Observer.

Sparano’s father was once the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

That’s where Jr. got his start in the NFL in 2011 as an offensive quality control coach. After one year there, he spent three with the Jets. The Buffalo Bills hired him in 2015 to be their tight ends coach. After Buffalo, he moved on to the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he was an assistant offensive line coach for the last four years.

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