Tony Sparano gets contract extension

Within the span of a week, the Miami Dolphins went from nearly replacing coach Sparano with Jim Harbaugh to giving Sparano a two-year contract extension until 2013. You have to wonder how secure Sparano's job really is, and what kind of credibility he has among the players now. It's apparent that if Harbaugh or Bill Cowher were interested in the Dolphins coaching job, the job would be theirs, not Sparano's. So is Sparano just a lame duck until the team can upgrade?

I don't think Sparano is the team's biggest problem, but he is clearly not great either. Ironically, the coach that needed to be replaced the most, offensive coordinator Dan Henning, helped out by retiring. Hopefully, Miami will find a significant improvement in his replacement. The team also needs to upgrade the quarterback position. It's unlikely that the QB-of-the-future-to-finally-replace-Dan-Marino will be found this year, but Chad Henne has shown that he is not Marino's heir apparent.