Chad Henne, who spent his first four NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins under then-coach Tony Sparano, has sparked a modicum of fire in the Jacksonville Jaguars' offense since taking over for Blaine Gabbert in Week 11.
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Sparano, now offensive coordinator with the New York Jets, is embroiled in a full-on quarterback controversy between starter Mark Sanchez and backups Tim Tebow and Greg McElroy. Leading up to Sunday's Jaguars-Jets matchup, Henne told New York reporters he had been recruited by Sparano during the offseason.
"Well, Tony called me as soon as free agency opened," Henne said, via the New York Post. "Obviously, Mark signed his contract before that, but they still were interested and wanted to get me in on a visit. But I had two visits already lined up, here at Jacksonville and also in Seattle, so New York kinda would've been my third opportunity.
"But it just didn't work out. It was more Coach Sparano and his offense feeling comfortable with me running that more than anything. Whether it worked out or not, it is what it is."
After Henne, who didn't exactly set the world on fire under Sparano in Miami, chose the Jaguars, the Jets signed Drew Stanton to be their veteran backup quarterback before shipping him to the Indianapolis Colts after they made the controversial trade for Tebow.
Henne has been both a replaced and a replacement quarterback, so he understands the pressure that comes with playing the most high-profile position in American sports.
"It's definitely tough," Henne said. "Obviously that's this league; it's definitely a business, and it's all about wins and losses and how you perform as a quarterback. But no matter what situation you're in, you just have to prepare like you're the starter, never take your preparation lightly and always be ready because your number can be called any time and in any week."
Follow Kevin Patra on Twitter @kpatra.
