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With deep regret the Minnesota Vikings announce that Offensive Line Coach Tony Sparano unexpectedly passed away early this morning.

“Our hearts go out to Jeanette and the entire Sparano family as we all mourn the loss of Tony. Tony was a passionate and driven individual who cared deeply about his family, and especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren. Tony's presence within the Vikings organization will be deeply missed. We are only thinking of Tony’s family during this incredibly difficult time. We ask that the entire NFL and Vikings family keep the Sparanos in their thoughts.” - Vikings Owners Mark and Zygi Wilf

Sparano began his NFL coaching career in 1999 with stints as a head coach with the Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders. Tony served as the Vikings offensive line coach since 2016. Tony played collegiately at the University of New Haven where he was a four-year letterman. Sparano was named New Haven’s head coach in 1994 and held the position for five seasons.

Tony is survived by his wife, Jeanette, his two sons; Tony and Andrew, his daughter, Ryan Leigh, and four grandchildren. Sparano was born October 7, 1961. He was 56 years old.

The Sparano family requests privacy at this time. The Vikings will provide further updates when appropriate.

I'm shocked. Incredibly shocked. This is a major loss for the Vikings and a major loss for the NFL community at large as well.

Condolences to his family.

Wow just 56...

I just saw this sad, sobering news.

His poor family...

Thoughts and prayers for his family. Rip coach

Sad news. I hope his family is well taken care of.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Minnesota Vikings will start training camp in Eagan this week with heavy hearts. Team officials announced that offensive line coach Tony Sparano died unexpectedly Sunday morning. He was 56 years old. He joined the Vikings coaching staff in 2016. Vikings rookies are scheduled to report to Eagan for training camp on Wednesday, with practices starting Thursday. Vikings veterans are reporting on Friday. Several players took to social media on Sunday to offer their condolences to Sparano’s family and express their sadness over his death. Really tough to see this, so much respect for this guy, great coach and great person! You will be missed by so many, thoughts and prayers to your family! RIP Coach https://t.co/cTFqtglDcD — Adam Thielen (@athielen19) July 22, 2018 Thoughts and prayers to Mrs. Sparano, his family and everyone in the @Vikings organization.. life’s precious and we just never know when it’s our time.. RIP Coach.. https://t.co/vOzlSoUTlq — Kyle Rudolph (@KyleRudolph82) July 22, 2018 Rip coach Tony — DIGGS (@stefondiggs) July 22, 2018 Devastated to hear the news about Coach Sparano passing. Praying for his family through this tough time. — Kirk Cousins (@KirkCousins8) July 22, 2018 Thoughts and prayers to the sparano family. I am truly heartbroken. We lost a great man to early. https://t.co/MXt26ZTZsx — Everson Griffen (@EversonGriffen) July 22, 2018 Our hearts are heavy hearing about the passing of coach Sparano. He was a great coach/mentor/friend. I will always look back fondly on the time I spent under his guidance. Thoughts and… https://t.co/nlhwpdwtHR — Mike Remmers (@mremmers74) July...

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Very sad and very young. It's being reported he was complaining of chest pains and went to the hospital on Thursday for tests. Scary they missed this. Thoughts are with his family.

Terrible news. So young too. This is so sad. I pray for his family and the team.

Oh my goodness. What terrible news.

Such a difficult way to start the season. Devastating for his family and for the team.

Purple Domination wrote: ↑Sun Jul 22, 2018 7:28 pm Very sad and very young. It's being reported he was complaining of chest pains and went to the hospital on Thursday for tests. Scary they missed this. Thoughts are with his family.

missed what? they haven't said the cause of death yet

This bummed me out, I'm not much
younger and have a lot of grandkids
through marriage. I was thinking about
his family all day at work. Sad

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Minnesota Vikings offensive line coach Tony Sparano died Sunday of heart disease, according to a report released Monday by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner. Sparano died Sunday in his Eden Prairie home. He was 56 years old. Team officials announced his passing on Sunday, saying it was unexpected. According to the medical examiner, Sparano was pronounced dead at 8:54 a.m. Sunday at his Eden Prairie home. His cause of death has been ruled arteriosclerotic heart disease, and his manner of death is natural. It’s described as a hardening and narrowing of the arteries, which puts blood flow at risk. Sparano joined the Vikings coaching staff in 2016. He is survived by his wife, Jeanette, two sons, a daughter and four grandchildren.

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Wow is that a shocker!!
Always some kind of bad luck for us.
Feel bad for his family.

Sad. Condolences to his family. It's usually always the heart when it happens suddenly like that. He's a lot younger than I thought though too.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Minnesota Vikings announced Tuesday that the team will not practice Friday due to a memorial service for Tony Sparano. Sparano, the team’s offensive line coach, suddenly passed away Sunday morning. He was 56 years old. Related: Vikings O-Line Coach Tony Sparano Dies At 56 The team will be attending the memorial service Friday in Wayzata. In lieu of flowers, the Sparano family asks that donations be made to the American Heart Association. Fans with tickets to training camp Friday will be contacted directly by the Vikings’ ticket office. The Vikings will return to regular scheduled practices on Saturday, July 28. Sparano is survived by his wife, Jeanette, his two sons; Tony and Andrew, his daughter, Ryan Leigh, and four grandchildren. Sparano was born October 7, 1961.

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