NFL coach Tony Sparano passed away unexpectedly Sunday Morning at the age of 56. While his head coaching career didn’t go as planned, he nevertheless gained massive respect from his players, peers, and fans.
There was an outpouring of love on Twitter honoring the coach, and that included a few tweets from members of the San Francisco 49ers organization. Sparano actually was a coach for the 49ers during the Jim Tomsula era, serving as tight ends coach. He was one of the few coaches that was an absolute steal for the staff.
Sparano’s most recent job was with the Minnesota Vikings, running back Jerick McKinnon‘s former team. McKinnon retweeted something from former Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater:
Couldn’t have said it any better !! Going to miss you Coach Sparano https://t.co/5sixUzXBVK
— Jerick Mckinnon (@JetMckinnon1) July 22, 2018
49ers owner Jed York tweeted this out moments after the announcement:
So sad to learn about #TonySparano today. He was a good man and a very good coach. My heart goes out to his family
— Jed York (@JedYork) July 22, 2018
This is a sudden death and not something anyone was prepared for. Adam Schefter reports Sparano had chest pains Thursday and everything checked out on the subsequent doctor visit. Whey he and his wife were preparing to go to church on Sunday, she found him unconscious where he was pronounced dead sometime later.
We’ll update this post with more responses from the 49ers as they come available.