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Jets practices have a new soundtrack in 2012. The voice of new offensive coordinator Tony Sparano can be heard above all others, barking out commands and corrections as the Jets players learn his offense.
Even the guys on the other side of the ball have noticed.
“Sparano is loud,” cornerback Darrelle Revis said last week.
And it isn’t just bluster. Jets players have now spent five weeks with Sparano, and several of them said there is not just a new playbook but a raised level of accountability with Sparano calling the shots.
“He definitely runs a tighter ship than I’ve seen from anyone before, and he’s not going to let anyone slip up,” tight end Dustin Keller said. “I think that’s when problems do arise. It’s going to continue. You can tell it’s not just a one day or an OTA thing, this thing is going to keep on going and going, and I think we need it.”
The Jets hired Sparano in January after six seasons with Brian Schottenheimer in charge of the offense. For most of the Jets offensive players, Schottenheimer is the only coordinator they have played under in the NFL.
The Jets offense fell to 25 th in the league last year, and it was clear that a change needed to be made. The Jets labeled Schottenheimer’s departure as mutual, but it was clear the organization was ready for someone new.
Sparano comes to the Jets after four seasons as the Dolphins head coach. He comes with a reputation for loving to run the ball. Sparano’s no-nonsense style surely
appealed to Jets head coach Rex Ryan, as well. After a 2011 season that was torpedoed by in-fighting among the offensive players, Ryan needed a firm hand to clean up that side of the ball.
“He gets after guys,” Revis said. “I think that’s maybe something Rex wanted to bring to the offense for a coach to get after guys and make sure they’re accountable for what they’re doing on the offense.”
Sparano’s demeanor will mean little, of course, if the offense stumbles on the field. The Jets players have said they are picking up the offense quickly. A theme does seem to be developing when you talk to players — run, run, run then run some more.
“It’s a different mentality with Coach Sparano. He’s the type of person that’s like, if you can’t stop him, he’ll keep doing it,” running back Joe McKnight said. “That’s the kind of mentality I think if we had last year, I think we could have done better. We were just thinking so much last year it made it more easy for us this year.”
McKnight said the players breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Sparano’s playbook. The play calls are simpler and the players do not have as many adjustments on the line of scrimmage. Schottenheimer’s offense contained options for players depending on how the defense lined up. Sparano’s philosophy seems to be more about running the called play and challenge the defense to stop it.
Ryan raised eyebrows in January in a radio interview when he said even he found the language of Schottenheimer’s offense confusing. Sparano has simplified things. For example, offensive linemen now concentrate on one part of a play call rather than the entire thing.
“It’s similar to the system that I ran when I was in Pittsburgh, so pretty much everything that he’s brought in is kind of more making sense to me now,” receiver Santonio Holmes said. “Being in Coach Schottenheimer’s offense, it was a little difficult to understand and learn everything on the fly.”
And if players forget the offense, they know Sparano will remind them — loudly.
“You would think most guys when they’re yelling they’d lose their voice eventually,” Keller said, “but his just keeps on going. ”
brian.costello@nypost.com