It has never been easy to be a coach of the Miami Dolphins, not since Don Shula left anyway, but one coach hit a level that was the exact opposite of what Shula did.
Every head coach in Dolphins history since "The Don" has had their issues and quirks. Jimmy Johnson's failed attempt to replicate his Cowboys days sticks hard. Dave Wannstedt was the coach Johnson convinced Wayne Huizenga to hire.
The years of Nick Saban, Joe Philbin and Adam Gase were some dark times. Each had their problems and weren't able to make the Dolphins great, or even average. However, no one was as bad as former head coach Cam Cameron.
Cam Cameron cemented himself as the worst head coach in Dolphins history
I sat in the team meeting room at the old Davie training facility. It was 2007, and this was my first Web Weekend event. Yes, I have been doing this since then. Cameron stood at the front of the room, and I stood and made a fool of myself (not the first or the last) by thanking him for bringing some respect back to the team. It was still early in the year, week 4.
Cameron had a nice demeanor. He was open to questions, but there was a huge problem: He failed to connect with his players. Jason Taylor once told a story about how he and Zach Thomas had an early camp talk in the team cafeteria, and came away unimpressed and worried.
Cameron's one-year and done in Miami was one thing. His 1-15 record was another. He never earned the respect of his players and was so miserable that when Greg Camarillo raced to the end zone for the Dolphins' only win of the year, Stephen Ross quipped that the play cost him a couple of million dollars.
Ross would outright buy the team a few years later, but would take over a lot of the ownership after Cameron's season.
The biggest downside of it all wasn't the embarrassing one win, it wasn't the clueless play calling on the sidelines, or the decisions he made, it was the fact that Huizenga listened to one of his own internal executives and didn't hire Mike Tomlin that same offseason. Too hip-hop, they told him.
Almost 20 years later, Tomlin is still rolling in Pittsburgh and the Dolphins are on their fifth head coach since.