JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- This was supposed to be a fun week for Jacksonville Jaguars assistant offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr.

He was going to spend a couple of days practicing with the Minnesota Vikings while at the same time visiting with his family since his father, Tony Sparano, was coaching the Vikings' offensive line. Then he'd get a chance to coach against his dad on Saturday (1 p.m. ET) when the Jaguars played the Vikings in a preseason game at U.S. Bank Stadium.

That all changed on July 22, however, when the 56-year-old Sparano Sr. died unexpectedly of natural causes brought on by arteriosclerotic heart disease. That has made this an exceptionally emotional week for Sparano Jr.

Jaguars coach Doug Marrone knew it would be, which is why he gave Sparano Jr. the option of not making the trip to Minnesota if he felt it would be too tough. Sparano Jr. made the trip, though, and was able to spend a few moments with his mother at the Vikings' practice facility on Wednesday. The Vikings have made the family honorary captains for the game and will present them with a painting honoring Sparano. They will also hold a moment of silence.

"We're doing as well as we can because we're really strong, really resilient, the way Dad and Mom raised us, the way this family is built," Sparano Jr. told the Star Tribune on Wednesday after the Jaguars and Vikings held their first joint practice.

Said Marrone: "We talked about it. I [asked], 'Hey, what do you feel is best for you? We are going to support you either way.' He's going through a tough time. It is not just him, individually. It's his family, his mom, and there is a lot going on. I want to make sure I am there to support him. We will do whatever we have to do to make sure we are doing the right thing for his family. That is how I look at it.

"I never want to look back on anything -- and I try tell this to players, I try to tell it to coaches -- you don't want to look back after things occur and have any type of regrets. I think living life like that in anything that you do is very difficult. I just want to make sure everything is covered and whatever support he needs from me, I am there for him."

Marrone had known Sparano Sr. since the mid-1990s, and he took a few moments before Wednesday's joint practice to speak with his widow and express his condolences.

"The offensive line coaches in this league are very close, so obviously, I have known Tony [Sparano Sr.] from when he was at Boston University and I was at Northeastern," Marrone said. "I have always admired the job that he did, and I always thought he did an outstanding job with the [offensive] lines he coached. We had a relationship. I would call it that -- just a relationship. I have the utmost respect for him and I'm sure those players cared about him as much as a lot of the players that I know played for him [did]."