Cameron hopes to “coordinate” offensive success in ‘07

By Hugo Guzman  |   Thursday, July 19, 2007  |  Comments( 13 )

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When the regular season rolls around in early September, the Miami Dolphins will be the only team not fielding an offensive coordinator. Instead, Cam Cameron will fill the role of both head coach and offensive play-caller, leading some to suggest that he's making a foolhardy decision that will leave him strung out and overextended.

Is that a fair assumption, though? Furthermore, is there any historical evidence that lends credence to Cameron's apparently egotistical decision to hold so many reins? Let's find out.

For starters, there are several NFL teams with offensive coordinators whose titles are more honorary than they are functional. Two teams that immediately come to mind are the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In Baltimore, head coach Brian Billick has been running the offensive show since 1999. He has hired a few offensive coordinators in that time but has still maintained a tight grip on the system and playcalling duties. Last year, he fired longtime friend Jim Fassel during the Ravens' bye week and took over calling plays on a full-time basis. And what was the result of this changeover? Despite a stellar 13-3 record, Baltimore's offense finished 17th in the league in yardage and 12th in scoring. Not exactly something to write home about for Billick, an alleged offensive guru.

Furthermore, it is more or less an established fact that the Ravens have fielded a relatively anemic offense ever since Billick came on board, and that includes the year in which they made their Super Bowl run.

Verdict: Billick has failed to be an adequate offensive coordinator during his head-coaching tenure with the Ravens.

What about Tampa Bay? Well Jon Gruden is running that leaky ship, with Bill Muir holding the title of offensive coordinator; however, the truth of the matter is that Muir is really more in charge of running the offensive line than anything else. Gruden is the real leader of the Bucs' offense and has been since arriving in Tampa Bay back in 2002.

Sure enough, Gruden has also won a Super Bowl, but his success has little to do with the effectiveness of his offense. The Buccaneers have never ranked in the top 10 in either total yardage or scoring while Gruden has been at the helm.

Verdict: Gruden has failed to be an adequate offensive coordinator during his head-coaching tenure with the Bucs.

At this point, Cameron's decision to play the dual role of coach and coordinator is looking like an exercise in futility, and it's difficult to find any example in recent league history that would point to the idea that one can have significant success as an O-coordinator and head coach.

However, there is the story of Sean Peyton.

The head coach of the New Orleans Saints does employ an offensive coordinator, Doug Marrone, but just like in Tampa Bay, Marrone's main task is handling the offensive line. Peyton is the one calling plays and implementing the offensive system. Amazingly, as a rookie sideline general, Peyton was able to completely revitalize New Orleans' offense, helping the Saints go from among the league's worst teams to one of its best last season, earning NFL Coach of the Year honors in the process.

Sounds like the perfect blueprint for Cameron's path to success, doesn't it? However, astute minds will be quick to point out that while Peyton's input was crucial, the team's offensive output had more to do with personnel than coaching. It's easy to come off as an offensive genius when you bring in two electrifying rookies -- Reggie Bush and Marques Colston -- and a Pro Bowl quarterback like Drew Brees.

Cameron has injected Miami's offense with some new and potentially playmaking youngsters like Ted Ginn Jr. and Lorenzo Booker. He has also brought in an aging but multiple-time Pro Bowl quarterback in Trent Green and an athletic tight end, David Martin. Theoretically, then, the personnel pieces are in place. Now it's just matter of putting those pieces together the way Peyton has in New Orleans, while avoiding the pitfalls that have befallen Billick and Gruden.

Time will indicate if Cam Cameron is indeed up to the task.

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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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CommentsComments: 13  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Dolfan		09:27 AM
07/19/2007
Guess the writer is not aware that 2 of the 3 coaches he references won the superbowl and the 3rd was on the brink of getting in...
No.2
jax		09:37 AM
07/19/2007
Dont forget Andy Reid calling plays in Philly. They have done well with few WR. Coughlin took over as OC in jax toward the...
No.3
Samantha		12:04 PM
07/19/2007
It's a legitimate question, so why not talk about it? The decision to either have or not have an Offensive Coordinator has to...
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