Dolphins Revelations

A friend tipped me off to this article by Jay Glazer at FOX Sports. I had no idea it had gotten that bad in Davie. Being 1-15 and disrespecting team leader Jason Taylor meant that Cameron had little support in the locker room. I knew that halfway through the year as it appeared that he had lost several of his players, especially the veterans.

Furthermore, there was the leak of that team incident on the plane that resulted in Keith Traylor being dismissed from the Dolphins. It made sense that players would take offense to the action by the coach. However, I had no idea the situation got so heated.

Defensive stars and team leaders Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor, and Joey Porter lined up after the incident and systematically RIPPED Cam Cameron apart. Porter even went as far as to call him a spineless coward. Apparently, Cameron only stood up to stop the altercation at the very end when things had already started to break down. He displayed no leadership skills or authority whatsoever. In response to the attacks, Cameron did nothing and simply sat back down.

It now appears that Cameron was way in over his head as the head coach of a professional football team. He mismanaged his team on and off the field. After Joey Porter asked for extra time in Pittsburgh after the MNF game, his request was denied. He chose to stay anyhow. Rather than suspend him, Cameron slapped him on the wrist with a fine and further lost his players.

His decision to bench John Beck reeked of desperation to me and that was not lost on his players. If anyone had any support for Cameron after Beck's benching and the plane incident, they were alone. Even had Parcells not come in, Cameron would have likely been fired because not a single player on this team respected him.

The article above also mentions an incident where Zach Thomas had some words with former GM Randy Mueller for remarks made questioning Zach's heart. It looks like this team was doomed from the start and now it comes to no surprise that it failed so miserably on the field. I wouldn't be surprised if that Zach video I posted earlier this week is an accurate reflection of what's to come.

It's amazing the team was so close in so many games when looking back. Not only was the team sorely outmatched in almost every game they played, but the front office and the locker room were at each other's throats the entire season.

Cameron Fired

I left this post for last because it is clearly the most important news of the day. After much speculation, Bill Parcells fired first-year head coach Cam Cameron today. This despite the support of mutual friend Bobby Knight.

Cameron really wasn't a good coach. I don't like to throw people under the bus until they get enough time to prove themselves though. Take a look at Randy Shannon. That team went 5-7 and was even worse than under Coker, but he deserves a few years with his own guys and his own system before we pass judgment.

Cam had to deal with mostly players from the Saban and Wannstedt eras. In fairness to his detractors, the guys he did bring in didn't do much. Ted Ginn's family failed us all. He has to be held accountable for those and other mistakes.

However, other coaches have started off just as bad and ended up doing just fine. The important thing in this case I think is not that Cameron's performance wasn't up to the standards the new front office wanted, but rather the unfamiliarity they had with the current head coach. Parcells wants his GM, his coach, his players. Cameron simply didn't fit into the equation. Under those circumstances, I'm fine with the dismissal. Good luck to Cam elsewhere.

As far as replacements go, Tony Sparano has been the talk of the town. It looks like he is the frontrunner. He is a Parcells guy, hard nosed and hard working. He demands respect. That sounds fine to me. I don't really place emphasis on coaching as much as I do on player personnel. Get me some players and I'll be happy.

Aside from Sparano, the Dolphins have already contacted recently fired Baltimore DC Rex Ryan, as well as Vikings DC Leslie Frazier. Several other candidates have been mentioned, but for the time being, nobody knows anything for sure. I don't think that Parcells will take much longer to find his man though. He has only limited access to Sparano during the playoffs, so I'm sure he will try to sway him to Miami quickly.

Hopefully this starts the true rebuilding process. Remember though, we were all convinced that we were on this track 3 years ago, and last year as well. Both times our big splashes ended up being duds as coaches. It's a tough road, especially when basically the entire staff got fired. I would have liked to see Hudson Houck stick around, but honestly he wasn't able to work his magic to the fullest down here.

Dolphins Hire Ireland, Fire Cam?

EDIT: The Post has reported that this is official. PFT is reporting Cam was fired last night.

Armando Salguero is reporting the Dolphins have pretty much all but hired Jeff Ireland as the new GM. Ireland was previously the GM of the Dallas Cowboys, so its obvious the Big Tuna is bringing in his own people to run the show. Considering the recent resurgence of the Cowboys franchise, I wouldn't mind if he brought as many guys as he wanted.

Up next is probably going to be Tony Sparano, who if hired as the head coach of the Dolphins would be the butt of Sopranos jokes during his entire tenure here. That of course means that Cam Cam is on his way out, after only one season at the helm.

Like I've said before, I'm pretty indifferent towards Cam Cameron. He proved nothing to us as a head coach, but giving a guy only one season is typically a rash thing to do. That being said, if Parcells is more comfortable with the guys that helped build up the Cowboys, then let the man work his magic.

However, I would suggest to Dolfans everywhere to keep a conservative outlook on the future of this team. As well as the Cowboys are playing now, Parcells didn't win a playoff game with them. In fact, the team wasn't all that good until he got lucky and Tony Romo came out of nowhere and provided Dallas with a Pro Bowl quarterback. Without his success, that team is not where it is at today. It's a similar situation to Bill Belichick in New England. If Brady doesn't come in, then how much of a genius is Bill now?

That's not to say either Bill isn't a top flight head coach or evaluator of talent. What I'm saying is that these guys don't exactly have the Midas touch with players and that a little bit of luck at the QB position helped them get over the hump. Therefore, don't expect the Dolphins to rise out of obscurity without a quarterback. Just hope that either John Beck or any potential QB that they bring in during the offseason can be the answer.

Parcells to Fire Mueller, Cameron Next?

We all knew this was coming, but Chris Mortensen reported that tomorrow, Randy Mueller will get the ax. I've previously said that I like the decisiveness of this move. I don't want a lame duck GM in the April draft. I don't care if the guy is "auditioning" for another front office position. I don't want some guy who will be gone in the morning determining the future of this football team.

Honestly, I don't know who is worth bringing it to take the role of GM anymore. We hear stuff about the former Green Bay GM or the Dallas GM, but thats all speculation for now. My pipe dream of course would be Scott Pioli, but we would probably have to forfeit both our games versus the Patriots next year in exchange to pry him away.

Aside from Mueller, Parcells is expected to clean house, including Cam Cameron and the coaching staff. Personally I have no preference as to whether or not Cam deserves to stay. Good coaches have had bad years, but he hasn't proven a thing to me. If he's gone, so be it. Just make sure you don't screw up again. This team hasn't had a competent coach in ages and it's about time we bring in a guy who can take this team to a Super Bowl. It'll be a long road, that's for sure.

Parcells Ready to Make His Impact

Only a day into Bill Parcells' stay here in Miami and rumors are spreading about the Dolphins and the future of this team. Sources are saying both Cam Cameron and Randy Mueller are on the way out, as soon as Monday. Potential replacements include Tony Sparano and Romeo Crennel, both former Parcells' proteges.

It looks like Bill wants his own guys in there and does not feel comfortable with any of the people already in place in Davie. Not sure I blame him after this disaster of a season. It's best to get rid of everyone asap and give the new people the full 4-5 months to scout the hell out of the college ranks for players. I've always hated the idea of a lame-duck GM staying through the draft knowing full well he will get the boot as soon as it's over.

In addition the front office moves, Parcells has been linked to a couple of players. During his press conference, he said he doesn't want bad character guys on this team. Granted, this is a similar statement to what Cam Cameron made when he came in, but this might spell the end for Ricky Williams and Joey Porter. I'm not sure cutting either would be a great idea. This team needs talent and sadly those are two of our ten best players.

Finally, a potential FA pickup has been crossed off our list, as the Cowboys extended WR Patrick Clayton's contract. I'm not too sure Parcells would have gone after him anyway. He is familiar with the guy and knows Crayton is a 3rd receiver at best. Throwing 14 million dollars at him would have been a bad way to start off his stay as a Dolphin.

What to do With Cam Cameron

Now that Bill Parcells is officially on the job, he's got several decisions to make. Seeing as how he has complete control over personnel, he'll likely have his hands full watching tape and deciding who gets to stay. Or maybe, he'll only need to watch last week's game versus the Patriots and realize that less than a dozen players on this team deserve to be back next season.

However, the big decision he must make is whether or not bring back Cam Cameron as head coach of the Dolphins. Sunday we will likely lose our 15th game of the season, seeing as how we are without our best DBs, our run defense is terrible, and the Dolphins are facing the Bengals high-powered offense. Our only hope is that their redzone offense is as ineffective as it has been this season. Otherwise, it means the Dolphins will have a pitiful 1-15 season. So is that enough to fire Cam Cameron?

On first glance, I'd say no. This team lacked talent at almost every position when Cameron took over and usually rebuilding projects deserve at least 2 or 3 years. Even some of the most successful coaches in NFL history started off with awful debuts--- Bill Walsh and Jimmy Johnson to name a few. That being said, Cameron has shown little to prove he's capable of being a Bill Walsh. His rookie mistakes as a coach will be fixed, but is he capable of leading a team to a Super Bowl?

That's the only question that should be in Parcells' mind right now. We don't need a coach that can take this team to a winning record or the playoffs. If we wanted that we would have kept Wanny. I don't know if Cameron is capable of any of these things. However, it's incredibly difficult to evaluate a coach's performance on just one season, and changing the man in charge will create further chaos.

Teams that win usually have stability. Rarely do you get a Jon Gruden who comes in and takes a team straight to the top. Replacing the coach will make things worse in the short term, but has the possibility of making things better long term. In my opinion, I would probably take complete control of this roster, gutting at least half of it over the offseason. Find yourself an offensive coordinator or maybe a defensive one with head coaching experience. Give Cameron half a season to show the team has improved.

If it hasn't, give him the ax and give the interim guy a chance to prove he is capable while at the same time letting the team play through the growing pains of having a new coach during a season that would already theoretically be lost. More than anything, this team needs talent on the field. Coaching is important but not as important as having guys who can actually tackle and catch the ball out there. Parcells can make that happen.

Parcells to Dolphins, Wayne Reneging

Huge news being reported by multiple sources tonight: Bill Parcells accepted an 11th hour offer by the Miami Dolphins to become the VP of Football Operations, just hours after all but accepting a similar position with the Atlanta Falcons. The key reason why he chose the Dolphins was a phone call from Wayne Huizenga apparently expressing his desire to keep the team. Whether or not this promise means he won't sell the team outright or a portion of the team to minority owners is unknown. All we know now is that it was enough to sway Bill into all but signing a 4-year deal with Miami.

Barring a last second change of heart (nothing is official yet), Bill will take over football decisions and have the power to bring in new coaches and personnel men. What this means for Cam Cameron and Randy Mueller is unknown at this point. If Parcells can sway Cowher into coaching again, that would be an amazing turnaround for a franchise with no stable figureheads that people can believe in.

As far as Parcells is concerned, I'm not totally sold on his abilities anymore. At Dallas his teams weren't really that good and underperformed. He did choose most of their current starters, but like any team, the Cowboys success relies heavily on their QB Tony Romo, a guy that was basically a shot in the dark. Think of Belichick and Tom Brady. Without those two QBs, those teams aren't as good as we think they are so we need to take their success with a grain of salt. Is Parcells still a football genius, or did he get lucky that Romo evolved into a Pro Bowl caliber QB? Who knows.

As far as our current coaching staff and personnel executives, I'm not sure what to make of them either. Cameron has been awful but he has been handed an equally awful roster and to be fair, several of the games bests coaches have started 1-15 or 2-14. He might deserve another year. However, there needs to be a serious evaluation of everyone involved in the decision making process. Certain moves were head-scratchers (though I still back the Welker trade) and we have to make sure that this years draft is fruitful. In addition, we have to be sure whoever is in charge wisely makes use of our 25 million dollars in cap space this offseason so that the Dolphins will be on their way up as soon as possible.

Dolphins News

Hank Goldberg has just reported that Jorge Perez is out as a potential buyer for the Miami Dolphins and that Michael Dell is in. This is an interesting development to say the least, as Dell brings in deep pockets. Perez as an owner would also have been interesting because of his position on the UM Board of Trustees.

Additionally, seeing as how new ownership is likely next year and most people within the franchise would likely prefer a coaching change, it should be noted that Bill Cowher has rejected overtures from the Atlanta Falcons regarding their head coaching position and will not be returning to coaching for at least another season. If that's true and Cam Cameron really is out, that leaves the Dolphins with only a few high-profile options left in John Fox and Marty Schottenheimer, among others.

On my end, I really don't know where to go at this point in terms of a head coach, this team is so bad that any coach would have trouble taking them to the playoffs. It would be funny to see us bring back former QB Jason Garrett after his success this season as the OC of the Dallas Cowboys though.

Drinking the Lemonade

I just don't get it. What could Cam Cameron possibly see in Cleo Lemon to think he deserves to start over John Beck? Beck has been brutally awful of late, but he is a rookie on the worst team in the NFL, possibly in NFL history. Just how much can you expect of the guy? Lemon on the other hand has had several years in the NFL, almost all in this Cam Cameron system, to prove his worth. What has he produced? Zero wins and a 65 QB rating this year.

It's obvious that Cameron simply wants to win one game to keep his job. Lemon probably provides a 1% more chance to win at this point simply due to his experience. But why not just accept the fact your team is TERRIBLE and keep Beck in there to see what you've got. Have they already made up their mind? Is the #1 pick going to be a QB? I sure hope not. What a mess.

Read on here.

Into the Abyss

Dolphins lose yet again in embarrassing fashion to the hated Bills. It's been 16 straight losses now and every time you think the Fins have hit rock bottom, they play again on Sunday. John Beck's fluke pick-six/fumble-six (whatever it was it was ugly) basically summed up our season. The #1 overall pick is all but locked up now, a loss to New England will set it in stone.

What I absolutely hated about this game was Cam Cameron taking the sleazy way out and pulling his rookie QB after a fluke play. Beck had only thrown 2 passes and you yank him? For what? Cleo Lemon? He didn't do anything this season to merit any further playing time and proved my point by constantly fumbling snaps and making bonehead passes. Cameron obviously is worried more about his job than the future of this team at this point, and for that I hope he gets canned. This team is flat out terrible and I only watch them now solely out of masochism.

O-fer?

The Dolphins are a miserable bunch at 0-12 and I don't see any reason to believe they'll win a game anytime soon. In fact they've lost 15 straight dating back to last season. Coincidentally, our last victory was an improbable 21-0 blanking of the Patriots. Hard to imagine how different our fortunes have fared from the Patsies since that game. I'm not sure whether to blame Jimmy, Wanny, Saban or Cam Cam for this one. I think everyone for the better part of a decade dropped the ball. Then again, if last year's team had Drew Brees instead of Daunte Culpepper, we were looking at a playoff team. Goes to show just how important the QB position is.

On that note, I'd ask anyone out there with no faith in John Beck to simply give the guy some time. He hasn't been a worldbeater in his first few starts, but I definitely like the guy's poise and decision making early on in his career. He'll take some licks and throw some picks, but I think he will become good enough so that this team can win a Super Bowl with him. Not because of him, but with him. What they desperately need is a good draft. No more 3rd down backs taken in the 3rd round, especially ones that proved nothing at the college level (sorry Lorenzo). Use that 1st pick and trade down to fill as many holes as possible and hope for the best.