Quote Originally Posted by HKusp View Post
Shas, I don't see how you can divorce the two issues. If he had been more effective at game planning and decision making, he would have more than likely not lost the confidence of those around him. When you are making more correct calls and the results show on the field, it strengthens confidence, it doesn't erode it. If you go through long stretches of games and can't be effective and the players feel like they are doing what is being asked of them and aren't allowed to do the things that they think will work, then you get frustration. When you communicate what you as a player see is happening on the field, and then are ignored and the results are terrible, you get more frustrated and you lose confidence in what that person is asking you to do.

As athlete's we know when we screw up vs. what is being asked of us is actually what is screwed up.
Here's why I think its irrelevant. Cam may have been right. Cam may indeed have correctly concluded what his receivers, offensive line and quarterback could and could not do. All the things the fans (and some players perhaps) wanted him to do maybe in fact wouldn't have helped. Maybe he really was getting the most out of the talent they have and maybe we overrate that talent? Maybe an offense that was top-ten in scoring was the best we could expect.

Do I believe that? Not really. But it's possible. Maybe we'll see the same results under Jim Caldwell and it will continue to be difficult to figure out if Cam was as terrible as most think he was.

But my point is this: it's not worth debating it. It really doesn't matter what we subjectively think of the job Cam was doing under the circumstances because the players stopped believing he was doing a good job.

Cam thought he was putting together the best plan possible each week. Some players apparently disagreed. Who is to say which side was right? I know what a lot of fans believe, but that doesn't really settle the issue.

More to the point, it really doesn't matter who is right because the relationship between coach and players (and colleagues, maybe) was broken, and it was more important for Harbaugh to step in (prompted by Bisciotti, or not -- and I'm not totally convinced that it was Bisciotti's decision) and sever the relationship, than it was for him to settle the argument.

I'll use this analogy. A bad marriage. When a couple gets to the point where they are at each other's throats over issues in their marriage (money, romance, attitude, whatever), it really doesn't matter if she's right or he's right. The only thing that matters is admitting the marriage is over and moving on, regardless of which side is right.

That's what I'm saying about Cam. It doesn't matter if he was right or wrong in how he was carrying out his duties. The bigger issue was that he had lost trust and he needed to go on that basis, above all else.