And so it's back to work following Christmas. First of all, I hope everyone had a good holiday. Also, I wanted to quickly talk about the site. For the next 2 weeks or so, my postings will not be quite as scheduled as in the past. This is simply because this time of year is hectic for me. But fear not; there will still be daily updates and everything you've come to expect from this site. It just won't be much like clockwork as it has been for a week or two.
I also want to announce that there will be some major changes to this site in early 2008 (likely around March, but that's not set in stone). And these changes will definitely be for the better, as a new site design will be rolling out. I'm very excited for this upgrade and I think you will all be very, very happy with the new look and new features. Now onto the Dolphin news:
CLEO TO START ON SUNDAY
As "MattRothisthefuture98" pointed out in a diary, Cam Cameron has decided on Cleo Lemon as the starter for Sunday's season finale against the Bengals. Here's what Cam said on Monday:
Despite the public opinion that John Beck should start on Sunday, I'm not the least bit surprised that Cleo will get the nod over Beck. I am a bit surprised, though, that Cam already announced his decision to the media. And like many of you, I don't at all see the point to starting Cleo. Even if he does "give us the best chance to win," what's the point? Is 2-14 really that much better than 1-15? I don't see how it is. And how does letting Cleo play and allowing him to potentially increase his value for his upcoming free agency (if he plays well) help improve this franchise's future? Wouldn't starting Beck and letting him gain more experience (and letting Bill Parcells get a first hand look at the rookie QB) be a wiser decision for this organization? Yes, it would. But Cam isn't really looking to do what's best for the organization. Instead, he's doing what's best for him and his job. I can't say I blame him or anything, but enough is enough. Beck should be the guy who is starting on Sunday against Cincinnati's quesionable secondary. And this game could have potentially been a big confidence booster for John as we move towards 2008. But what can we do? It's just another bad decision in a season that's been filled with bad decisions. Ugh!
PARCELLS TO DUMP CAMERON?
And now we come to Cam's future in Miami. Right now, it's anyone's guess as to what Bill Parcells is thinking in terms of the future of Cameron as well as GM Randy Mueller. But ProFootballTalk does offer up this tidbit of information regarding this situation:
However, some league insiders think that Parcells might throw G.M. Randy Mueller a bone. Whether that means he'll remain as the General Manager or be offered another position in the organization remains to be seen.
As to potential head-coaching candidates, keep an eye on Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley. The first-year Arizona assistant was the receivers coach under Parcells last season in Dallas. (Haley also had a run-in with receiver Terrell Owens in 2006, which would only make him more attractive to Parcells.)
The reality is that whoever gets the job will have to accept having a head coach emeritus peering constantly over his shoulder, and possibly offering micromanagement that might be viewed as unwanted.
Also, and as Adam Schefter of NFL Network previously reported, league insiders expect that Parcells will take aim at multiple Cowboys who become available in the free-agent market.
First of all, let me say this. I do not think that Parcells will be "micromanaging" and "peering constantly" over the head coach's shoulder. I'm pretty confident that Bill doesn't want to be involved with the day-to-day coaching decisions of the football team. And he's made that pretty clear on various occasions. I do think, however, that if the coach seeks Bill's advice, Parcells would definitely oblige him. But to think that Bill will mettle in the head coach's business is a pretty unfair accusation, in my opinion.
As for the futures of Cam and Randy, one can only imagine what Bill is thinking. It is known that Parcells plans on flying to Miami on Thursday and hopes to meet with both Cam and Randy. And how I'd love to be a fly on the wall for this gathering!! I can't say, though, that I'm surprised that there's talk amongst league insiders that Cam is going to get canned. Even if Bill wasn't hired, I'd bet this same talk would be ongoing right now anyway. However, this PFT article reports that one name being thrown around to potentially replace Cam is Todd Haley, who only has 1 year of coordinator experience on his coaching resume. Honestly, I don't get that. We just went through a year with a rookie head coach. And Cam had many years of coordinator experience. Do we really want to go through another season with a newbie for a head coach? Honestly, there were only 2 guys who lack head coaching experience that I'd really be interested in as a potential replacement for Cam and those are Jason Garrett and Brian Schottenheimer. Though I'll admit I don't know much about Haley, I honestly don't see how he'd be a big step up from Cameron. But I guess the argument for Haley would be the fact that Parcells wants to bring in his own guys. And I suppose I could put my trust in Bill and live with his decision. I will, however, be very quick to "jump all over" a guy like Haley if/when he makes those rookie head coach blunders that we've had to deal with in 2007.
As far as Mueller goes, I'll be very interested to see what happens here. I could see Bill retaining Randy if he meets him and it's clear that those 2 are on the same page. However, I keep hearing more and more that Jeff Ireland (VP of Scouting for the Cowboys) is very much a potential replacement for Randy if he does get the pink slip.
Your thoughts on all this?