In a little over a week, when coaches and scouts will descend upon the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine, one conspicuous absence from the Dallas contingent will be special teams coach Joe DeCamillis.
David Moore, of the Dallas Morning News has reported that DeCamillis will stay home in order to further recover from neck and back pain--injuries stemming from the practice bubble collapse last May, in which DeCamillis suffered four fractured vertebrae, and scouting assistant Rich Behm was paralyzed from the waist down.
DeCamillis met with doctors on Thursday to further assess the timetable for his recovery.
"It might be my impatience, but I want to do all I can to get some of this pain to go away," said DeCamillis, per the Morning News. "With another set of eyes, maybe they can do something. Hopefully, they can give me some hope that will happen."
DeCamillis, who was forced to wear a neck brace throughout most of the off-season last year, was limited by the injury but provided inspiration for players with his refusal to miss any significant time. Beyond that, all he did was turn the Dallas special teams from a weakness (as it had been for the two years previous) to a strength.
"For our job, you've got to be pretty active," said DeCamillis, who is scheduled to meet with doctors today. "I didn't watch one practice other than my period last season. I want to be there the whole practice, to work at my craft better than I have since the injury. They will do some tests and come up with a plan. I want to get better if at all possible."
