Stampede Blue
Indianapolis, IN — Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard has always had a knack for drafting offensive line talent. From one of the easiest choices of all time in selecting guard Quenton Nelson at the top of the draft to finding gems on Day 3 (Rounds 4-7), such as current starting center Tanor Bortolini and recently departed guard Will Fries, there’s been no shortage of valuable finds via the draft.
Throughout all of his impressive draft selections, though, resides one man who has singlehandedly righted the ship: Tony Sparano Jr.
“You’re locked in. You’re playing for each other. There’s so much juice out there, and it’s coming from you guys. We’ve gotta keep this focus. I’m really, really proud of you guys for the way we’ve started this.”
This quote is from Sparano Jr. as a first-time offensive line coach in the NFL back in training camp of the 2023-24 season. Son of former NFL head coach Tony Sparano, Sparano Jr. spent the first twelve seasons of his professional coaching career as an assistant before he was given the opportunity to lead an OL room for the first time under a fresh head coach in Shane Steichen.
Ever since he set foot in Indianapolis, Tony Sparano Jr. has proven that he is the right man for the job.
His first task as an offensive line coach would require no easy remedy as he, Shane Steichen, and company attempted to navigate the murky waters otherwise known as a rookie quarterback. Not just any rookie signal caller, no. Sparano Jr. was tasked with keeping arguably the rawest quarterback prospect in history upright. Despite this, Indy’s offensive line has not only managed to play its part in each of the three seasons that he’s been here, but they’ve thrived amidst an upward trajectory that not even Jeff Stoutland’s Philadelphia Eagles front can match.
In the season prior to his arrival, the Colts’ vaunted offensive line that dominated from 2019-2021 and additionally helped aid an OPOY-caliber season from running back Jonathan Taylor the year before simply fell apart. Though they were in limbo at multiple positions on the line, this was largely the same dominant group from years past, and they regressed into allowing the second-most sacks given up in 2022, with 60 sacks.
After a changing of the guard entirely, Sparano Jr. was brought into the right the ship, and he has been — from day one. While longtime Colts OL Quenton Nelson, Ryan Kelly, and Braden Smith bounced back under Sparano Jr., his calling card is his ability to turn the inexperienced and/or youngins into strong spot-starters and legitimate players entirely.
During his short time in Indianapolis (2.5 seasons), Tony Sparano Jr. has helped Bernhard Raimann go from a raw prospect into a legitimate NFL left tackle, got a 7th-round pick paid in Will Fries, and has strung together one of the most impressive succession plans in recent memory as first-time starters across the interior, center Tanor Bortolini and tackle-turned-guard Matt Goncalves,...
