MIAMI – Four NFL teams took a gamble hiring rookie head coaches before the season started and the moves paid off for three  of those teams who find themselves with 11-5 records and gearing up to take the field this weekend in the playoffs.Miami Dolphins rookie head coach Tony Sparano orchestrated one of the most impressive turnarounds in NFL history. Taking over a 1-15 team, Sparano, who worked under Bill Parcells in Dallas, succeeded under pressure when he and his ‘fins went into the Meadowlands as underdogs the last game of the season and upset Brett Favre and the Jets to steal the AFC East division title and finish with an 11-5 record.

Atlanta Falcons rookie head coach Mike Smith and Baltimore Ravens John Harbaugh also took over struggling franchises and finished with the same 11-5 record.

Against the opinion of much of the media, both coaches made gutsy decisions, opting to start their first-round quarterback picks Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco Week One of the season.

Ryan, who won the AP Rookie-of-the-Year and Flacco capitalized on the opportunity and went on a record-setting journey, starting all 16 games and leading their teams to wild-card berths.

After completing several interviews during the offseason, Ravens’ owner Steve Biscotti said his decision to hire Harbaugh was just a simple “gut feeling” after Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett turned down an offer for the job. As fate would have it, Garrett has hung up his headset for the season and Harbaugh is playoff bound and sure to receive some Coach-of-the-Year votes.

It’s hard not to cheer for these guys since they stepped into such challenging roles on struggling teams in the rebuilding phase.

Interesting fact is, with the Ravens facing the Dolphins one of these men are guaranteed to make it to the next round of the playoffs.

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