 Cameron as offensive coordinator for theBaltimore Ravens | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1961-02-06)February 6, 1961 (age 64) Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1981–1983 | Indiana |
| Position | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1984–1985 | Michigan (GA) |
| 1986–1989 | Michigan (WR) |
| 1990–1993 | Michigan (WR/QB) |
| 1994–1996 | Washington Redskins (QB) |
| 1997–2001 | Indiana |
| 2002–2006 | San Diego Chargers (OC) |
| 2007 | Miami Dolphins |
| 2008–2012 | Baltimore Ravens (OC) |
| 2013–2016 | LSU (OC/QB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 18–37 (college) 1–15 (NFL) |
Malcolm "Cam"Cameron (born February 6, 1961) is an Americanfootball coach who was most recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of theLSU Tigers football program. Cameron attendedIndiana University in Bloomington, Indiana and played quarterback for the school. Cameron began his coaching career in theNCAA with theMichigan Wolverines. After that he switched to theNational Football League (NFL), where he was offensive coordinator for theBaltimore Ravens and theSan Diego Chargers and head coach for theMiami Dolphins, coaching them to a 1–15 record inhis only season.
Cameron was born February 6, 1961, inChapel Hill, North Carolina. A multi-sport athlete, Cameron was anAll-Americanquarterback atTerre Haute South Vigo High School inTerre Haute, Indiana. Prior to his time at Terre Haute South, he attended Saint Patrick School Catholic Elementary School. He won the 1979 Trester Award for mental attitude as a guard on the high school basketball team which went to the state finals three years in a row. He played football and basketball atIndiana University under coachesLee Corso andBob Knight, respectively, until a knee injury ended his playing career. As an undergraduate, he was a member ofKappa Sigma fraternity. He graduated fromIndiana in 1983 with a bachelor's degree inbusiness.[1]
Cameron spent the first ten years of his career at theUniversity of Michigan, where he learned from long-timeWolverine coachBo Schembechler. After two years as a graduate assistant, he became Michigan's youngest assistant and was responsible for tutoring quarterbacks and receivers. He coached many future NFL players, includingJim Harbaugh,Elvis Grbac,Todd Collins,Amani Toomer,Derrick Alexander andHeisman Trophy winnerDesmond Howard.[2] Cameron served as an assistant at Michigan alongside future head coachesLloyd Carr,Gary Moeller,Les Miles, andMike DeBord. His fellowgraduate assistant wasMike Trgovac, who was the former defensive line coach of theGreen Bay Packers, after serving six years as the defensive coordinator of theCarolina Panthers.
Cameron was the quarterbacks coach for theWashington Redskins between 1994 and 1996. He is credited with guiding quarterbackGus Frerotte to his onlyPro Bowl appearance in 1997, and also played a key role in the development of Pro Bowl quarterbackTrent Green.
Cameron returned to his alma mater to serve as the head coach for theIndiana University Hoosiers in 1997. In five seasons, he achieved a record of 18–37. Cameron brought an explosive offense to Indiana with highly effective offensive players such asAntwaan Randle El. Indiana averaged 23.6 points per game under Cameron's guidance. In fact, Randle El became the first player in NCAA Division I history to pass for 40 career touchdowns and score 40 career rushing touchdowns. He finished his college career as fifth on the all-time NCAA total yardage list, and became the first player in college football history to record 2,500 total yards for each of four consecutive years.[3]
Although Cameron's Indiana teams won less than one-third of their games, Indiana was recognized by theAmerican Football Coaches Association for its exemplary football graduation rates in each of Cameron's final four seasons. He was fired after the 2001 season.[4]
From 2002 to 2006, he served as the offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers. In 2004, San Diego scored 446 points, third-highest in the NFL that year and the third-most in team history. Following the 2004 campaign,Sports Illustrated named Cameron its Offensive Assistant of the Year. In 2005, the Chargers averaged 26.1 points per game, fifth in the NFL in that category. In 2006, the Chargers offense amassed a team-record 494 points while paving the way for league MVPLaDainian Tomlinson to break the single-season touchdown record. In addition to Tomlinson, Cameron had the opportunity to work with Pro Bowl quarterbacksDrew Brees andPhilip Rivers, as well as All-Pro tight endAntonio Gates in San Diego. He brought in former HoosierKris Dielman as left guard.
Cameron was interviewed for a number of head coaching jobs, including theHouston Texans andSt. Louis Rams vacancies following the 2006 season but was not hired. Cameron also interviewed for the head coaching jobs with theArizona Cardinals andAtlanta Falcons in January 2007 but Miami was the only club that made an offer.
By the time Cameron arrived, the Dolphins were coming off the abrupt resignation of their head coachNick Saban, despite repeatedly saying he would stay in Miami and denied rumors of him taking theAlabama head coaching job. Cameron's2007 Dolphins lost 13 consecutive games to start the season, before beating theBaltimore Ravens in overtime on December 16 for their first and only win of the year. The Dolphins ended the 2007 season in last place in theAFC East with a franchise-worst 1–15 record, the worst record in theNFL that year and the worst in the team's 40-year history.[5] On January 3, 2008, newly hired general managerJeff Ireland announced Cameron had been fired along with most of his staff.[6]
On January 23, 2008,Baltimore Ravens head coachJohn Harbaugh announced Cameron as the Ravens’ new offensive coordinator.[7] Following a loss to theWashington Redskins in Week 14 of the 2012 NFL season, Cameron was released by the Ravens and replaced byJim Caldwell. At the time of his release, he had helped the Ravens attain a 9–4 record.[8]
After Cameron's firing, the Ravens went on to winSuper Bowl XLVII against theSan Francisco 49ers. Despite being fired as offensive coordinator after week 14, head coach of the RavensJohn Harbaugh stated that Cameron deserved and would receive a Super Bowl ring, having helped the team for a majority of the season to get to the playoffs.[9][10]
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On February 8, 2013, LSU hired Cameron as offensive coordinator, replacingGreg Studrawa. The move reunited him with head coach Les Miles.[11]
Entering 2013, Cameron had immediate success, as his LSU offense averaged 46 points in the first six games of the regular season. The Tiger offense finished the season 34th in the country in passing yards at 265.1 per game, 32nd in rushing yards at 200.8, 22nd points for at 37.0, and 32nd in total offense (LSU's best since 2007) at 5591 yards of total offense and a total average of 465.9 yards per game. Cameron has also been widely praised for the development of redshirt senior quarterbackZach Mettenberger who had the best season of his LSU career with a 64.9% completion percentage, and a 22–8 touchdown to interception ratio, a notable improvement over past seasons.
LSU fired Miles on September 25, 2016, after a 2–2 start to the season.[12] Interim head coachEd Orgeron did not retain Cameron, and promoted tight ends coachSteve Ensminger instead.[13]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana Hoosiers(Big Ten Conference)(1997–2001) | |||||||||
| 1997 | Indiana | 2–9 | 1–7 | T–9th | |||||
| 1998 | Indiana | 4–7 | 2–6 | T–7th | |||||
| 1999 | Indiana | 4–7 | 3–5 | T–8th | |||||
| 2000 | Indiana | 3–8 | 2–6 | T–9th | |||||
| 2001 | Indiana | 5–6 | 4–4 | T–4th | |||||
| Indiana: | 18–37 | 12–28 | |||||||
| Total: | 18–37 | ||||||||
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| MIA | 2007 | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 4th in AFC East | – | – | – | – |
| MIA Total | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | – | – | – | |||
| Total | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | ||||||