He served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and is the only NFL head coach to have led a team to the playoffs the year following a one-win season, and only the second to conduct a ten-game turnaround, both of which he accomplished in his first season with the Dolphins.

[7] Beginning his NFL career in 1999, Sparano was fired in three staffing purges after brief stints with the Cleveland Browns, Washington Redskins and Jacksonville Jaguars.

[10] After firing Cam Cameron following a franchise-worst 1–15 season, the Miami Dolphins and new executive vice president of football operations, Bill Parcells hired Sparano to a four-year contract worth $2,500,000 per year on January 16, 2008.

The Dolphins were the subject of much gossip at the end of the 2010 season when team owner Stephen Ross flew across the country with General Manager Jeff Ireland to interview then Stanford University coach Jim Harbaugh.

It was also reported by numerous media sources that Ross also spoke with former NFL coaches Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher about the not yet open position.

On January 8, 2011, the Dolphins gave Sparano a two-year extension worth $4.5 million, with Ross saying he was the perfect man for the job.

However, on December 12, 2011, hours after a week 14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Sparano was fired;[14] secondary coach Todd Bowles finished out the season.

Sparano and his wife, Jeanette, had three children: sons Anthony Michael (currently offensive line coach with the Indianapolis Colts) and Andrew (a tight ends coach with the Lamar University Cardinals)[21] both played college football at Albany,[22] while daughter Ryan Leigh is a classically trained French pastry chef.