Six days before they're set to take on the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, the Miami Dolphins have fired head coach Tony Sparano, reports Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com.
This move is not remotely surprising, but it is fascinating in several respects. Prior to yesterday's dull 26-10 loss to Philadelphia, the Dolphins had been one of the best turnaround stories of the NFL season, having turned an 0-7 start into a 4-1 stretch in which Miami outscored its opponents 139-54.
Less than a month ago, Sparano and the Dolphins were laying the wood to the Bills in Florida, as Miami pounded Buffalo 35-8 in Week 11. It's going to be interesting to see how the Dolphins respond to losing a head coach that they'd so effectively rallied around since early November - around the same time that Buffalo's six-game losing streak began, in fact.
Despite the fact that Sparano is out - he'll be replaced by Todd Bowles, the team's Assistant Head Coach and Secondary Coach - Miami still comes into Week 15 with considerably more momentum than Buffalo. While the Bills have gone 0-6 since the start of November, the Dolphins are 4-2.