Add the Rose Bowl to Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs’ accomplishments. It seems Michigan used Gibbs’ offense to win granddaddy of bowls in 1988 and ’92.
Miami coach Cam Cameron Wednesday admitted taking plays from theRedskins during training camps when visiting as a Michigan assistant. Saying it directly led to the Wolverines success, Cameron learned the scheme while spending two weeks annually in Carlisle, Pa. during the late 1980s-early ’90s.
“We’d steal every idea we could when I was at Michigan from what the Redskins were doing,” Cameron said. “All the plays with [quarterbacks] Mark Rypien and Doug Williams — we put in a lot of their package and it helped us win at least one, if not two Rose Bowls.”
Sounds like someone owes Gibbs a favor when Cameron makes his NFL head coaching debut on Sunday against Washington at FedEx Field.
Cameron has plenty of connections to the Redskins. He spent 1994-96 as the team’s quarterbacks coach while former Redskins quarterback Sonny Jurgensen taught the red-haired assistant the game is more than squiggly lines on a page.
“Sonny always brought me the personnel element to the thought process,” Cameron said. “He talked about people and players. I know when [Jurgensen] called plays back then it was more about people than scheme and that had a huge impact on me and on my offensive philosophy.”
Then there’s parts of former Redskins coaches Norv Turner and Marty Schottenheimer that formed Cameron’s offense that last year scored 492 points as San Diego’s offensive coordinator. Cameron’s resume also includes playing guard for Bobby Knight at Indiana and 10 years under Michigan coach Bo Schembechler.
“Norv is so good on game day. He’s probably the best I’ve been around as an assistant coordinator. On game day, he’s off the charts good,” Cameron said. “Marty Schottenheimer, Bo Schembechler and Bobby Knight, while they’re very good on game day, are off the charts during the week. The week of preparation to those guys means everything.”
Before the Redskins want to sneak an option pass by Antwaan Randle El, they should remember the receiver played for Cameron at Indiana.
Is their no end to Cameron’s Redskins mindset? Wait, he also has former Redskins assistants Terry Robiskie and Bobby Jackson on his staff.
Kevin Bacon — please pick up the white courtesy phone. Cameron wants to recreate your game.
Cameron, 46, was the surprise pick by Miami. Ironically, he might have been able to become the boss in San Diego if waiting for Schottenheimer’s firing. Instead, Cameron is rebuilding a team while Turner inherited a Super Bowl contender.
“I’ve never let my mind go there,” Cameron said. “That was a great experience working for Marty Schottenheimer. There was never any interest in replacing Marty Schottenheimer if he retired. This is truly a great situation [in Miami.]
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
