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| Randolph Charlotin. 5th January, 2008 - 7:02 pm
 How ironic. A Tuna cans a bunch of Dolphins.
Animal conservationists won’t be protesting outside Dolphin Stadium in honor of the Miami coaches who were victims of Bill Parcells’ axe. The move was expected after general manager Randy Mueller was shown the door.
Leading the way is former Head Coach Cam Cameron. In his first pro coaching season, he led Miami to a disastrous 1-15 season, a franchise worst. He is followed by all but two assistants to the unemployment line.
Joining Cameron on the curb is Brian Billick, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens. The season started with Billick signing a lucrative extension. Apparently the extension was good to the end of the season instead of a mid-season firing.
Finding good reasons for one more year for either head coach is a reach. For Cameron, does a coach with a 1-15 record deserve a second chance? Go ahead and say the players played hard, they never gave up or they had a lot of close losses. If the Dolphins were getting better to any degree, they would had won a close game or two. It’s a strong sign you’re not wanted when Miami retains running back Ricky Williams while Cameron is dismissed.
Billick can always point out, as an offensive coach, he won a Super Bowl with a record-setting defense. But surrounding that one championship were ups and downs. They followed last year’s 13-3 playoff season with the 4-12 disappointment in 2007. Ultimately the Ravens under Billick were too inconsistent to reward him another year to turn it around.
If Cameron had any chance for 2008, it would had been there’s nowhere for Miami to go but up. And with proper support from the front office, maybe Cam could make something out of the Dolphins.
Cameron and his staff were handcuffed by the front office. It was a flawed roster. Quality veterans were replaced by inexperienced rookies or players with few games under their belts. What vets remained, were mostly old and beyond their primes.
Injuries took their toll, as well. The move to trade for quarterback Trent Green was a complete failure as Green suffered another concussion and eventually was placed on injured reserve. Running back Ronnie Brown tore his knee and missed the final eleven games of the season. Inside linebacker and defensive leader Zach Thomas suffered a concussion that placed him on I.R.
To top it all, there were the sabotage moves, also known as trades. In hindsight, each one was a bad move. It starts with the pre-season deal for Trent Green. The price wasn’t bad, a conditional fourth round pick, but it wasn’t worth the five games started by Green before his injury against the Houston Texans.
Another killer mistake was trading wide receiver Wes Welker to New England. It might had never came to that if the ‘Fins made a higher offer for the restricted free agent. The Patriots were willing to surrender a third round pick for the versatile slot receiver. Eventually the two sides worked out a trade for Welker, who went on the catch 112 passes for 1,175 yards and eight touchdowns for the Pats. It’s the kind of production the Dolphins could had used to keep drives alive and to mentor first round pick wide out Ted Ginn Jr.
The final trade, a deadline deal that sent WR Chris Cambers to San Diego for draft picks, made it clear the front office were waving the white flag and giving up on the season while leaving Cameron with an on-field product designed to fail.
Billick had strong support from Baltimore’s Ozzie Newsome. Whatever Billick wanted, Newsome got it. The problem was rarely was it the right move. After winning Super Bowl XXXV, he changed the quarterback from Trent Dilfer to Elvis Grbac. In the 2003 draft, Billick pushed for the trade that brought QB Kyle Boller to Baltimore. And last year he wanted free agent veteran Steve McNair for leadership and experience.
The results: Grbac was a complete flop before retiring; Boller is yet to prove he can be a franchise cornerstone; and McNair was steady but far from prolific. But with McNair’s gifts came his baggage of bandages as he spent most of ’07 on I.R.
For a man hired because of his offensive prowess with Minnesota, the Ravens never became explosive offensively. His inability to develop quarterbacks into prolific passers played a part in his dismissal. They drafted QB Troy Smith in the 2007 draft. Apparently it is best to keep Smith away from Billick’s tutelage.
It’s obvious what happens next for the organizations that issued the pink slips. They need to find new leadership. Parcells and newly appointed GM Jeff Ireland will conduct the search for Miami. meanwhile,Newsome in Baltimore is in search of Billick’s successor.
As for Cameron and Billick, their futures aren't as clear. Their reputations as offensive gurus took a hit with their head coaching experiences. But they will catch on somewhere with assistants being shown the door around the league. They will get a fresh start, which is exactly what the Dolphins and Ravens are going for by firing Cameron and Billick. |
