#2 Cam Cameron
After the untimely departure of Nick Saban, the Miami Dolphins entered a coaching search during the 2007 offseason. After interviewing several candidates, they landed on Cam Cameron.
What did he do?
Cameron coached the 2007 Miami Dolphins to a 1-15 record-their worst season in team history. If not for a long Greg Camarillo touchdown in overtime, they could have easily gone 0-16. Years later Jason Taylor spoke out about the job that Cameron had done, and his comments weren’t very flattering.
"“Cam was an idiot, I have no idea how he got the job. I’ve never been around a more incompetent head coach than Cam Cameron. I’m talking youth football, college. It was unbelievable.” -Jason Taylor via Armando Salguero @ The Miami Herald"
What compounded the problem, even more, is that Miami interviewed some solid candidates. One of those candidates was Mike Tomlin. Unfortunately, one Dolphins employee with a say in the hiring process felt he was “Too hip-hop.” I won’t dive into the racial undertones there, but let’s just say that was a bad look for Miami. Tomlin would of course go on to compile a 145-78 record with the Steelers with numerous playoff births and a Super Bowl victory in 2008.
Where is he now?
Cameron would go on to serve as an offensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens until 2012 and then in the same capacity with LSU until 2016. He is currently out of coaching.
What lesson can be learned?
The only thing that can rival the importance of having the right quarterback, is having the right coach. Cameron has been a successful coordinator, but he was clearly not up to the task of being a head coach. The fact that Miami hired him (they were the only team to make an offer to him), shows that they had some serious blind spots in their hiring process.
It’s also worth noting that being a good coordinator and a good head coach takes vastly different skill sets. Being able to deal with and motivate players is more important than being some offensive or defensive guru. The same lesson can be applied to the Joe Philbin signing.