Hypothetical ?

[tepop84]

Do you think the dolphins would be better off if they hadn't fired cam cameron?  I do, I know I was one of the people who was ready to show Cam the door in 2007, but he did have a lot of bad luck that year (1/2 the team on ir, 6 loses by 3 points or less). His draft wasn't that bad, and if he had a chance to grow as a HC, I think things would be better now.

He would have gotten rid of Porter that offseason, and he had 2 second round picks because of his Chambers trade. I think he would have brought in a veteran QB and let beck grow as the backup, therefore not wasting a pick on Chad Henne. 

2008 he would have had a healthy ronnie brown and ricky williams, and possibly Chad Pennington, I think the offense would have been very good and who knows, they probably would have won the division again.

[dolphins4life]

Cam Cameron wasn't meant to be an NFL coach.

The big problem he did with the 2007 was his lack of condiitioning.  He did not work his players hard enough during the offseason, which is why they faltered in so many late games and had so many injuries.  It's also why the defense was as bad as it was.   

Also, his game-making decisions were pretty bad as I saw several times during the year.  The one that stuck out the most was in the last Buffalo game before their only victory.  Facing fourth and four in Buffalo territory down 31-17 early in the fourth quarter, he punted and the Bills promptly scored, which was pretty predictable.

The big reason Sparano turned the team around the way he did in 2008 was conditioning.   

[Philly Fin Fan]

2008 he would have had a healthy ronnie brown and ricky williams, and possibly Chad Pennington, I think the offense would have been very good and who knows, they probably would have won the division again.

I don't know if he would've brought in Chad Pennington. Most of the reason Pennington was brought in was because of his connection with Parcells. As we see so often, coaches bring in "their guys" (Cameron brought in Green).

[Dave Gray]

I think Cam Cameron is a scapegoat and got the shaft --- he made some tough decisions in the short term that I think helped us in the long term, but that his failure here (in terms of record) was due to a decade of mediocrity before he came here.

That said, after he was gone, and stories started coming out, it sounded like he didn't have the locker room any more.  It sounds like he didn't demand the respect that he deserved from his players.  Also, his selection of Ted Ginn will prove to be one of our worst draft choices, I'm afraid.

[MikeO]

I think Cam Cameron is a scapegoat and got the shaft ---

You must be kidding me. He drafted Ted Ginn 9th. Went 1-15. Had Ronnie Brown returning kickoffs.

Yeah he was a scapgoat     Cam sucked!

[dolfan13]

my opinion is that folks put way too much into what a head coach can and can't do. the majority of the on field success, or lack thereof, is really on the players.

that being said, cam cameron was one of those examples where the head coach was a true detriment to the team.

[norad34]

Excellent offensive coordinator. In over his head as a Head Coach.

[Sunstroke]

Excellent offensive coordinator. In over his head as a Head Coach. 

That's about as good a summary as you'll get for the Cam Cameron file...

I had high hopes for Cameron... Hell, I even wrote a piece for this site about why he needed to be hired (as part of a 3-step plan for recovery), long before he eventually got hired. I felt a young intelligent offensive-minded coach was exactly what this team needed at that time.

Then he got the job, and actually had to start being a head coach, rather than an offensive coordinator, and he just wasn't good at it. The internal drama and clash of egos that's always present when groups of people spend lots of time together in a highly charged atmosphere...he just couldn't handle it. Or foresee it...or fix it, once it went unforeseen and unhandled. He subsequently lost the respect of the team, and that's the guillotine blade for an NFL HC.

He's done well as the OC for Baltimore...just like he did well as the OC for the Bolts. God bless a man who finds his place in the world.

[tepop84]

I think all those problems he had would have been improved in his second year. For a first time NFL head coach without having somebody over his shoulder like parcells making sure everyone behaves, I would expect he would have problems. He got great production out of Ronnie Brown until he got injured, and I am sure he would have made Ricky and Ronnie look great in 2008. Also, the Ginn pick isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The rest of his draft was decent.

[Brian Fein]

you don't think having 12 players on IR was a result of something to do with the head coach?  At some point it stops being a big coincidence...

[tepop84]

you don't think having 12 players on IR was a result of something to do with the head coach?  At some point it stops being a big coincidence...

I am pretty sure injuries are pretty random occurrences in the game. 

[Brian Fein]

nope.  Injuries can be (and often are) caused by poor conditioning and preparation.  Sure, they can be random, but 12 random instances?  On one team?  When does it stop being random?

[Dave Gray]

You must be kidding me. He drafted Ted Ginn 9th. Went 1-15. Had Ronnie Brown returning kickoffs.

Yeah he was a scapgoat     Cam sucked!

Maybe Cam would've sucked.  He probably would've.  Ted Ginn was definitely a bad pick.  But we weren't 1-15 because of him.  He traded away Chambers (good for Dolphins, bad for Cam in the short term).  We were in a downward spiral already, because of about a decade of bad drafts, and he just happened to get handed the wheel right before it crashed.  His handling of that crash was poor, but we were a bad, bad team way before Cam got there.

[Sunstroke]

you don't think having 12 players on IR was a result of something to do with the head coach?  At some point it stops being a big coincidence...

I am pretty sure injuries are pretty random occurrences in the game. 

"Black and white views of a truth clad in gray"  Some injuries are caused by lack of conditioning and preparation...and some injuries are random flukes. That team definitely seemed like it had an unhealthy amount of both.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

"Black and white views of a truth clad in gray"  Some injuries are caused by lack of conditioning and preparation...and some injuries are random flukes. That team definitely seemed like it had an unhealthy amount of both.

+1. 

However, how the team responds to injuries is not random and is a measure of the coaching and GM staff.  The NEP had 13 players on IR in 2008 and won 11 games.  The Dolphins had 12 players on IR in 2007 and won one.