Cam Cameron Takes Over Tiger Offense
Locker
ROOM By Bud Johnson Photo by Steve Franz
Tiger offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin
40 LSU Alumni Magazine | Fall 2013
There is a new play caller in Tigertown. Cam Cameron, a highly respected NFL offensive coordinator, is Les Miles’s pick to ignite the Tiger offense. LSU’s offensive pace may be faster this season. Some of the formations have not been seen in purple and gold. When Les Miles handed the offensive reins to Cameron in February, even the most cynical in Tiger Nation perked up. Cam’s offenses at San Diego and Baltimore made the NFL sit up and take notice. Cameron coached such high profile athletes as Drew Brees and Stephen Rivers at San Diego and Joe Flacco in Baltimore. Miles may have hit the bullseye again with this hire. His selection of John Chavis in 2009 solidified the defense. No one has worried about LSU’s defense since. Frank Wilson settled in as recruiting coordinator in 2010, and some reluctant outposts suddenly warmed up to “Hey, Fightin’ Tigers.” The choice of Cameron could calm if not quiet the critics of the LSU attack. The Tigers finished 10th in the SEC in offensive yards per game last season. It was the third time in four years that LSU finished near the bottom of the conference offensively. Who is this man and how did we get him? Miles and Cameron once shared an office as young assistant coaches at Michigan. But you knew that. Cam became available when the Baltimore Ravens fired him en route to a Super Bowl championship. That story was in all the papers. A call from Miles lured Cameron back to the college game. On his way to becoming a famous offensive coordinator in the professional ranks, Cameron had many teachers. Larry Bird. Bob Knight. Bo Schembechler. Gary Moeller. Just to name a few. Cameron grew up in small towns in the Midwest. Most of his major influences made their mark on Cam before his
30th birthday. Tom Harp, his stepfather, taught him the game, good work habits and the importance of thinking outside the box … when Cam was just a teenager. Harp, a noteworthy Indiana high school and college coach at Indiana State, invited Cam to go to the office one day. There was one catch. Departure time was 5 o’clock. That’s a.m. He was only late once. “I learned to get an early start on the day at a young age,” he said. As a 13-year-old, Cameron would often play pickup basketball games on the same team with Larry Bird, a great college player at Indiana State. If Cam was open, Bird would pass him the ball. From that experience, he learned to share the ball with his football teammates. He has employed this lesson in coaching jobs ever since. “Players will play harder if they are involved,” Cameron says. So, teamwork, an essential in team sports, was learned from basketball icon Larry Bird. And Bobby Knight? What does he know about football? From Knight, his college basketball coach at Indiana, Cameron learned discipline, mental and physical toughness, preparation, and the importance of teaching in sport. “I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for Bob Knight,” Cameron said. “He didn’t give us a typewritten handout. He lectured – just like in a class – and we wrote down everything he said about an up-coming game. We had to study it and be quizzed by him about every opponent. He believed in thorough preparation in everything.” It was Knight, the Indiana basketball coach, who recommended Cameron to Bo Schembechler, the Michigan football coach. Schembechler was also noted for his toughness, but he had other important qualities that Cameron admired. “He was tough,” Cameron said. “But he loved his players and his coaches, and he made sure that they knew it. They loved him, too. He was a great motivator. He