Posted at 2:31 p.m., Sunday, December 30, 2007
NFL: After 1-15 season, Miami's Cameron waits fate
By STEVEN WINE
AP Sports Writer
The Miami Dolphins coach will discuss his future soon with new boss Bill Parcells. Miami concluded the worst year in a franchise history by losing Sunday to Cincinnati 38-25, and Cameron is considered a long shot to return for a second season in 2008.
It has been 37 years since the Dolphins fired a coach. But they've never finished 1-15 before, a record that begs for sweeping changes.
Parcells began work Thursday as executive vice president of football operations and watched Sunday's game from a press box suite with retired Green Bay Packers general manager Ron Wolf. Parcells declined to talk to reporters.
"We will meet this week at some point in time," Cameron said. "It will be sometime after (Monday)."
The future of general manager Randy Mueller is in doubt, too.
"Those things will start being addressed I'm sure," Cameron said.
Miami has missed the playoffs six consecutive seasons, a franchise record. Cameron said the beginning of offseason evaluations will help the Dolphins improve.
"I'm looking forward to this week," Cameron said. "We knew coming in this was a process. Unfortunately it's not a lot of fun. It's painful. Now all the evaluations start. It's part of the process of getting this organization where we want it to be."
Cameron may not be part of the process much longer. He needed 14 games to earn his first win as an NFL head coach, which came when the Dolphins beat Baltimore in overtime two weeks ago, allowing them to avoid becoming the league's first 0-16 team.
The Dolphins are the eighth team to finish 1-15. There were plenty of lousy performances and questionable coaching decisions, but injuries and bad luck also contributed to Miami's woes.
"It has been bizarre at times with different things that have happened," Cameron said.
Of the other seven coaches who started a season with teams that went 1-15, only two returned the following year. Jimmy Johnson went 1-15 his first season in Dallas in 1989 but soon was winning Super Bowls, and Mike Riley remained with San Diego despite winning only once in 2000.
"Everybody deserves a second chance," tackle L.J. Shelton said. "Cam Cameron didn't lose 15 games. This is a collective effort."
Cameron inherited a team that went 6-10 last year and is paying the price for a decade of bad personnel moves.
"It was a tough situation for any coach, regardless of whether you're a 20-year veteran of head coaching or a new guy," defensive end Jason Taylor said. "It was a very difficult situation for him to walk into. Did he handle it right way, or did he handle it the wrong way? Who knows?"
Parcells will decide.