Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tony Sparano promised Saturday that when it comes to finding a new offensive coordinator to replace Dan Henning, he’s “going to try to move on that really fast.” Two names already surfaced early this week – one with a connection to Sparano and the Dolphins’ front office, another a familiar name to Miami football fans.

According to Sports Illustrated, the Dolphins asked for and received permission to interview Cowboys tight end coach John Garrett, the brother of current Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett. He previously worked with Sparano and Jeff Ireland in Dallas in 2007.

And according to The San Diego Union-Tribune, the Dolphins also received permission to interview Chargers tight ends coach/assistant head coach Rob Chudzinski, who won two national championships as a player at the University of Miami and was the Hurricanes’ offensive coordinator for their 2001 national title. Chudzinski also is reportedly a candidate for the same position in Carolina, where ex-Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera was named head coach on Tuesday.

Garrett, 45, the oldest of three brothers who currently coach for the Cowboys, coached Dallas’ tight ends the past four years – working with current Dolphins tight end Anthony Fasano in 2007. He never has been an offensive coordinator, but was Al Groh’s wide receivers coach and assistant head coach at the University of Virginia for three seasons. He also has served as the Arizona Cardinals’ quarterbacks coach, working with Jake Plummer, and spent seven seasons as a coach and scout for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Garrett, a graduate of Princeton, comes from a good football background. Younger brother Jason, a former Dolphins quarterback and assistant coach who recently was named the Cowboys’ permanent head coach, is considered one of the top young offensive minds in football today. And their father, Jim Garrett, has been a coach and scout in the NFL since 1970.

Chudzinski, 42, was a three-year starter with the Hurricanes, helping Miami win the 1987 and ’89 national championships. He returned to Coral Gables in 1994 as a graduate assistant and spent 10 years there, first as a tight ends coach, where he helped develop NFL stars Jeremy Shockey, Kellen Winslow and Bubba Franks, and was the offensive coordinator from 2001-03, helping the ‘Canes reach two national title games, with one victory.

He jumped to the NFL in 2004, coaching the Browns’ tight ends for one season before taking the same job with San Diego, where he helped develop Antonio Gates into the league’s top tight end. He was named the Browns’ offensive coordinator in 2007, and helped the Browns finish No. 8 overall in points scored and total yards as the Browns finished a surprising 10-6. The Browns fell to 30th in points and 31st in yards in 2008, and Chudzinski and the rest of the Browns’ coaching staff was fired.

He returned to San Diego the past two seasons to coach the Chargers’ tight ends.

Whoever the Dolphins hire, they will be under strict orders from owner Stephen Ross to employ an “aggressive, creative” offense that will remind fans of “the days of Dan Marino.”

The Dolphins also will need a new head strength and conditioning coach after losing Evan Marcus, who Tuesday was named director of football training and player development at the University of Virginia. Marcus headed the Dolphins’ strength program since 2008, coming to the team along with Bill Parcells, Ireland and Sparano.