NFL Coaches Fight Club: Tony Sparano (3) vs. Jim Caldwell (6)

NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

---

Talk about both ends of the spectrum. We've got Tony Sparano -- wearing his emotions on his sleeve, full of energy and hugging his players after victories like they are actually his teammates -- in one corner. In the other stands Jim Caldwell. Boring and unknown Jim Caldwell. I'm not sure I've ever seen a facial expression from Caldwell different than the one pictured above. You can't tell if he's livid, sullen or jubilant. He might move up and down the sideline during the game, but you never see him ... react, no matter what happens.

Really, this fight is only interesting because these men are polar opposites. If Caldwell was matched up against, say, Dick Jauron, it would be as much a snooze-fest as last week's Browns-Bills game. With Sparano's fire, though, he might be able to elicit some kind of reaction from Caldwell. Just because someone doesn't project their feelings outwardly doesn't mean they don't have them. Stoicism doesn't equate to a lack of toughness; in fact, you could argue that someone is mentally tougher if they can keep everything bottled up inside. Caldwell is an NFL football coach (and so far a successful one), so he's gotta have something going on.

We do know that Caldwell was a four-year starter at defensive back for Iowa back when the Big Ten was a powerhouse conference, and he's not exactly a small man. He's not too old to be in pretty good shape, either, so he could pose an upset threat to Sparano.

Of course, Sparano is six years younger, bigger, and was a starting center for the University of New Haven. We get to see his intensity on a weekly basis on the Miami sidelines and last season's turnaround shows that he's in it for the long haul. I'm betting he's about as tough as they come when squaring off mano-a-mano. A bonus? There are mob ties.