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*San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron
(on the interview) "Well, obviously I've known Charley Casserly from our time together in Washington and today's been a wonderful day so far meeting with Mr. McNair and his staff. We've done a little bit of everything, which is exciting. We talked about the offense, the defense, the personnel – they got a plan. You stand here and deal with men that have a plan; you know you have a chance."
(on what interview means to him) "My philosophy on that: in the National Football League, it's the best job you could possibly do. We weren't out contacting people for head coaching interviews, and it's truly an honor. It's a thrill and a blessing to get a call from any National Football League team. But, Marty Schottenheimer said, 'Cam, when it comes to winning in the National Football League it comes down to three things: the owner, the owner and the owner. There's an owner that you need to go talk to,' and that's why I'm here."
(on if interested in Texans because McNair's respected across the league) "Without question. And I can't say it any clearer than that. When he made that statement – and I've heard him say it before because obviously Marty and I have a great relationship and he made that statement several years ago – and he reiterated it this week, he was right on the money."
(on role of head coach) "Well the first thing that we have to do to be successful is go out and find quality people. I think that's my strength. I think Cam Cameron cannot take this organization where it wants to go by itself; we have to go out and find the best men we can possibly find on our coaching staff, men that want to be great coaches in the National Football League. We have to do a thorough evaluation of all the personnel, which I've pretty much done, and there are some positives to draw on. We need a great staff, and they've got a lot of great staff in place already. We need to get the type of players we need to win a championship, and that's where my strength and my focus and philosophy start: with the people. This is a people business. We need the kind of people here that have the expertise in football, the commitment to what we're trying to get done, which is win a championship. I think I'm the guy that can get that done."
(on San Diego's offense) "I can't imagine there being an offensive coordinator in the league that's luckier than I am. I truly believe that it's about the players we have. The system's improved – the system we're running started with Don Coryell, and it's older than all the players on our team. I think they understand it's worked for a long period of time, and they believe in it. It starts with LaDainian Tomlinson and Drew Brees, and it's filtered with Keenan McCardell, Antonio Gates and Eric Parker. We've been able to put together a very productive offensive line with guys that most people haven't heard of. To me, we have a sound offensive system, but we've got tremendous men running the system. These are some of the brightest men that I've ever been around in coaching, and I think that's the key for us: they believe in what we're doing and they're extremely bright."
(on what has made him so successful) "That's an interesting statement. I don't really look at it that way. I'm trying to get better each and every day. I'm not near the coach I was 10 years ago, I'm 100 times better than I was then. And I'm going to continue to get better and better. The one thing I know about this league is that you start thinking you've arrived as a coach, you start thinking you're successful – get ready. There are too many good players in this league, there are too many great coaches in this league and at any point in time you get satisfied with where you are, you're in trouble. I'm not satisfied with where I am as a coach; I'm going to continue to grow and a head coaching opportunity gives me an opportunity to do that."
(on Drew Brees and Philip Rivers) "Absolutely not. And here's why: because of the two men involved. If you've ever met Drew Brees or Philip Rivers, you'd know what I'm talking about. These are two first class young men, two extremely talented young men, extremely bright. They get it. Being a quarterback in the National Football League is about the team. It's about the team winning. And that's what our quarterback has to bring here. Our quarterback has to understand it's about the team. It's about leading our team and putting our team in a position to be successful. It's not about the individual. Drew and Philip have handled that situation better than probably any of us could have ever done."
(on Charley Casserly) "We had a positive experience in Washington and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Charley. The one thing that I know is critical to, not only our success as an organization but to my success as a head coach, is the person that oversees the personnel. There's not any coach in this league that can overcome certain personnel deficiencies. You try but people in this league are too good. So your personnel guy is the key to helping get this thing going."
(on handling scrutiny) "I'm unaware of that. I don't live in a cave but I do understand the job that I'm expected to do in San Diego. And my job really doesn't involve worrying about anybody else. One of my strengths is my ability to focus on the things that I control. Charley's a veteran and Charley's tough-minded. We all know we live in a world of critics and if you can't handle the critics in this business, you're probably in the wrong business. And I think I've been blessed, personally, to have an approach that allows me to deal with those types of critics and Charley's no different."
(on the number one overall pick) "Obviously it's exciting. I'm looking forward to, as you get into the draft and really start to look at these guys and find out exactly what they are. Any time you've got an opportunity to upgrade your team with an impact player, you're going to be excited about it. You've just got to have a plan. Plan A, plan B and they obviously need plan C. We had plan A in San Diego and the guy decided not to come. Plan B turned out pretty good for us. So those are things that you sit down and you play out in the draft. It's exciting."
(on Antwaan Randle-El and other similar style quarterbacks) "I'm really reluctant to compare guys. Antwaan was unique and obviously he's not playing quarterback in this league anyway. When you get guys like that, you run an offense that's unique to them. And sometimes it correlates in the NFL, sometimes it doesn't. If you're looking at a Reggie Bush and you start trying to compare him to [this player or that player]. These kinds of guys, you really can't compare them to anybody. Antonio Gates would be a perfect example. I mean who are we going to compare Antonio Gates to? He's plowing new ground at the tight end position. So you have to kind of think that way. These kinds of guys, these impact guys that are maybe a little bit different than your prototype are exciting because your mind now has to expand into some things that maybe haven't been done before. Antwaan was that way and to compare him or any of these guys to anybody else, you're probably not doing them or yourself a favor."
