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Updated: August 25, 2010, 9:27 PM
Loud Strength
Recovering DeCamillis Closer To Himself Again
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Email | Follow DCStarJEllis on Twitter
DeCamillis was forced to wear a restrictive neck brace at the beginning of camp in 2009.
OXNARD, Calif. - Joe DeCamillis wore a wry smile on Tuesday afternoon, hours after receiving a call from his wife Dana, who had read reports he was getting after his players with some "colorful" coaching points, as they were mildly described.
There has been worse news to come out of training camp than the fact the Cowboys special teams coach is getting back to his old self. After what DeCamillis has dealt with over the last 16 months, the long recovery from serious neck surgery, it's actually quite refreshing to see he's getting his edge back. If the 45-year old is correct, it'll make him a better coach.
"I wasn't at my best last year, there's no question about it," DeCamillis said. "I'm getting closer to that now, and I'm hopefully going to be in position to help the team a little bit more.
"I'm affected, but I'm a lot better than I was. I think my energy's back a little bit. Unfortunately there have been some more colorful days during training camp for some of these guys. Hopefully I can coach a little harder and be on top of things a little bit more than I was last year."
Unfortunately for DeCamillis, his first season with the Cowboys organization was not a good one. In just his second day of on-field coaching at Valley Ranch, May 2, 2009, DeCamillis was among the most severely injured when the team's indoor practice facility collapsed during a rookie minicamp practice. Though he escaped under his own power, DeCamillis quickly began to realize he needed help after being struck by debris in the accident. He was immobilized by first responders and taken to a nearby hospital, where two days later he underwent surgery to stabilize a fracture vertebra in his neck.
Recovery from the surgery was expected to keep the former Broncos, Giants, Falcons and Jaguars assistant off the practice field until at least training camp, but he returned in just over two weeks, his neck restricted by a large brace, barking instructions to his players with the help of a bullhorn. Weakened, he could not remain on the field for the entirety of practice the rest of the season.
DeCamillis was out of the brace midway through training camp, but fought pain and stiffness all season long. He coached the Cowboys in every game except the Week 16 win over Washington, which he missed because of a burst appendix. He needed a pain-killing injection just to get through the three hours of work every Sunday.
"I've never had a player do that, I've never asked one to do that," Wade Phillips said. "Joe did it every game and it wore off in the fourth quarter, and I knew it. He still did his job and did it really well, so I can't say enough about that."
The sensitivity of DeCamillis' recovering neck made it dangerous for him to even be so close to the action, but instead of coaching from the booth, he was down on the sideline with his kicking units.
"I was really worried about him last year. I still am, to a certain extent," Phillips said. "Last year I just said, 'Stand back Joe, you need to get away from the sideline' during plays and things like that, stand behind.' You just had to remind him of that stuff because I was conscious of it. He couldn't get banged up at all. He's used to jumping around, and you don't think of those things when you have those kinds of injuries. You think you can do all the things you did before."
Despite the coach's limitations, he still improved the Cowboys' coverage units, which had struggled mightily the season previously. The team jumped from 20th in the league in opponents' average starting position in 2008, all the way to second in 2009. They improved their punt return average by 4.5 yards from 2008, good for sixth in the league at 10.9-per-return.
Players said DeCamillis' strength and determination to do the job despite his injury served as a motivating factor throughout the year. The coach never asked for their sympathy, and true to his style, offered very little for their mistakes.
"We were expected to do the job, and he expected himself to do the job," second-year receiver Kevin Ogletree said. "It just showed how dedicated he was and made us want to tear it up for him. ... We were there for him. We knew exactly what happened. No one would ever talk about it too much, but I think it brought us together a little bit."
DeCamillis' ongoing recovery is not lost on his players a year later. He has continued physical therapy since the surgery and was so bothered by pain he could not sleep lying down until just two weeks ago, thanks to new treatment he began receiving in San Antonio. The pain is beginning to ease - he hasn't taken a shot before any preseason games thus far - and DeCamillis is starting to be able to coach the way he wants.
"This time of day I get a little sore," he said after the afternoon practice of Tuesday's two-a-days. "I've had some good treatment in the last year and it's helped. I'm trying to stay on the field as long as I can, a lot longer, obviously, than I did last year, and just get used to being on my feet. ... My mind is so much better and focused as far as what it needs to be focused on, which is ball, decisions, timeouts. Those type of things I'm a lot more focused on than what I was last year because I'm not in as much pain."
While DeCamillis is just beginning to get his on-field vitality back, he may never regain full range of motion in his neck. What he has acquired through the ordeal is a greater sense of perspective, which makes tisk-tisk calls from Dana and his daughters Caitlin and Ashley more than welcome.
"You're coasting along and everything's going good in your life and you have a tendency to kind of take things for granted," DeCamillis said. "That was a situation that came up and I hope I handled it the right way. I hope I learned something from it and I'm going to try to put it in the past and keep going from here.
"I think it's going to make me a better coach in the long run. I know it's made me a better person, I know it's made me a better husband and I know it's made me a better father because I got perspective on what was really important in my life, which was my family, my wife and my faith. ... It maybe was a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't wish it on anybody else, but I can tell you there was some good that came out of it too."
Loud Strength
Recovering DeCamillis Closer To Himself Again
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
Email | Follow DCStarJEllis on Twitter
DeCamillis was forced to wear a restrictive neck brace at the beginning of camp in 2009.
OXNARD, Calif. - Joe DeCamillis wore a wry smile on Tuesday afternoon, hours after receiving a call from his wife Dana, who had read reports he was getting after his players with some "colorful" coaching points, as they were mildly described.
There has been worse news to come out of training camp than the fact the Cowboys special teams coach is getting back to his old self. After what DeCamillis has dealt with over the last 16 months, the long recovery from serious neck surgery, it's actually quite refreshing to see he's getting his edge back. If the 45-year old is correct, it'll make him a better coach.
"I wasn't at my best last year, there's no question about it," DeCamillis said. "I'm getting closer to that now, and I'm hopefully going to be in position to help the team a little bit more.
"I'm affected, but I'm a lot better than I was. I think my energy's back a little bit. Unfortunately there have been some more colorful days during training camp for some of these guys. Hopefully I can coach a little harder and be on top of things a little bit more than I was last year."
Unfortunately for DeCamillis, his first season with the Cowboys organization was not a good one. In just his second day of on-field coaching at Valley Ranch, May 2, 2009, DeCamillis was among the most severely injured when the team's indoor practice facility collapsed during a rookie minicamp practice. Though he escaped under his own power, DeCamillis quickly began to realize he needed help after being struck by debris in the accident. He was immobilized by first responders and taken to a nearby hospital, where two days later he underwent surgery to stabilize a fracture vertebra in his neck.
Recovery from the surgery was expected to keep the former Broncos, Giants, Falcons and Jaguars assistant off the practice field until at least training camp, but he returned in just over two weeks, his neck restricted by a large brace, barking instructions to his players with the help of a bullhorn. Weakened, he could not remain on the field for the entirety of practice the rest of the season.
DeCamillis was out of the brace midway through training camp, but fought pain and stiffness all season long. He coached the Cowboys in every game except the Week 16 win over Washington, which he missed because of a burst appendix. He needed a pain-killing injection just to get through the three hours of work every Sunday.
"I've never had a player do that, I've never asked one to do that," Wade Phillips said. "Joe did it every game and it wore off in the fourth quarter, and I knew it. He still did his job and did it really well, so I can't say enough about that."
The sensitivity of DeCamillis' recovering neck made it dangerous for him to even be so close to the action, but instead of coaching from the booth, he was down on the sideline with his kicking units.
"I was really worried about him last year. I still am, to a certain extent," Phillips said. "Last year I just said, 'Stand back Joe, you need to get away from the sideline' during plays and things like that, stand behind.' You just had to remind him of that stuff because I was conscious of it. He couldn't get banged up at all. He's used to jumping around, and you don't think of those things when you have those kinds of injuries. You think you can do all the things you did before."
Despite the coach's limitations, he still improved the Cowboys' coverage units, which had struggled mightily the season previously. The team jumped from 20th in the league in opponents' average starting position in 2008, all the way to second in 2009. They improved their punt return average by 4.5 yards from 2008, good for sixth in the league at 10.9-per-return.
Players said DeCamillis' strength and determination to do the job despite his injury served as a motivating factor throughout the year. The coach never asked for their sympathy, and true to his style, offered very little for their mistakes.
"We were expected to do the job, and he expected himself to do the job," second-year receiver Kevin Ogletree said. "It just showed how dedicated he was and made us want to tear it up for him. ... We were there for him. We knew exactly what happened. No one would ever talk about it too much, but I think it brought us together a little bit."
DeCamillis' ongoing recovery is not lost on his players a year later. He has continued physical therapy since the surgery and was so bothered by pain he could not sleep lying down until just two weeks ago, thanks to new treatment he began receiving in San Antonio. The pain is beginning to ease - he hasn't taken a shot before any preseason games thus far - and DeCamillis is starting to be able to coach the way he wants.
"This time of day I get a little sore," he said after the afternoon practice of Tuesday's two-a-days. "I've had some good treatment in the last year and it's helped. I'm trying to stay on the field as long as I can, a lot longer, obviously, than I did last year, and just get used to being on my feet. ... My mind is so much better and focused as far as what it needs to be focused on, which is ball, decisions, timeouts. Those type of things I'm a lot more focused on than what I was last year because I'm not in as much pain."
While DeCamillis is just beginning to get his on-field vitality back, he may never regain full range of motion in his neck. What he has acquired through the ordeal is a greater sense of perspective, which makes tisk-tisk calls from Dana and his daughters Caitlin and Ashley more than welcome.
"You're coasting along and everything's going good in your life and you have a tendency to kind of take things for granted," DeCamillis said. "That was a situation that came up and I hope I handled it the right way. I hope I learned something from it and I'm going to try to put it in the past and keep going from here.
"I think it's going to make me a better coach in the long run. I know it's made me a better person, I know it's made me a better husband and I know it's made me a better father because I got perspective on what was really important in my life, which was my family, my wife and my faith. ... It maybe was a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't wish it on anybody else, but I can tell you there was some good that came out of it too."
