Cowboys coach Joe DeCamillis has a broken back, plus other updates
by Dave Halprin on May 2, 2009 10:59 PM CDT
in News
35 comments
[UPDATE]: Good first-hand accounts; Todd Archer here, Nick Eatman here and Mac Engel here.
Hat tip to BVandy for the Eatman link.
[UPDATE]: From the DMN blog, three people besides DeCamillis remain hospitalized:
…assistant athletic trainer Greg Gaither, who suffered a broken leg, college scouting coordinator Chris Hall, whose arm was injured, and scouting assistant Rich Behm, who was in critical condition with unspecified injuries.
Rich Behm, as noted below via Matt Mosley, had surgery for a spinal injury. [End Update]
One of the worst injuries to come out of the roof collapsing at the Dallas Cowboys indoor training facility happened to special teams coach Joe DeCamillis. We knew that he had been taken to the hospital in a neck-brace, now we find out he has actually broken his back. Several of the lower vertebrae were broken and it could have been a lot worse.
Former coach Dan Reeves, DeCamillis' father-in-law, said the first-year Dallas coach has a couple of broken vertebrae in his lower back.
"They say he's lucky not to be paralyzed," said Reeves, adding that DeCamillis probably will have surgery. The coach was seen being removed on a stretcher wearing a neck brace.
[UPDATE]: From Matt Mosley's blog via the comments section and BTB-regular TARHEEL PAUL we learn a Cowboys scout also has a back injury.
As of 12:08 a.m. ET, a Cowboys scout named Rich Behm is undergoing surgery on his spinal cord at a Dallas hospital, according to a source close to the family. DeCamillis, who is former NFL head coach Dan Reeves' son-in-law, has two broken vertebrae, according to sources
[END UPDATE]
New draft pick David Buehler was the most seriously injured of the players when a pole fell on him as he was trying to escape the collapsing structure.
Buehler, dazed by a blow to his head, wriggled out from under the pole and crawled approximately 15 yards through pools of water before turning around and looking at the wreckage.
[snip]
He needed three stitches to close a gash on his right knee. He also has a concussion, sore neck, skin ripped off his ear and a cut on his forehead.
Todd Archer gives his own first-hand account of being trapped that was relayed in the previous post. Big kudos to rookies Brandon Williams and DeAngelo Smith for getting Archer to safety.
Luckily, no one died in this incident and luckily Joe DeCamillis wasn't paralyzed. Also best wishes go out to Joe and the other 11 people who were injured and we hope for a speedy recovery.
In a couple of days, the questions will start to be asked about what happened. Was the structure unsound? Did it buckle under conditions it was meant to handle? Or was it not designed for conditions like Saturday? More immediate to the team, tomorrow's rookie session is obviously canceled but they'll have to find an indoor facility to practice in going forward. I think Jerry would want to be cautious about building a new one until he has everything figured out about what happened on Saturday.
The important thing is it looks like everybody will be OK, to some extent, although DeCamillis is dealing with a pretty serious situation. This could have turned out worse.
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My thoughts and prayers
go out to those unfortunately involved in this terrible accident, I hope Coach DeCamillis as well as all those people that were injured have a speedy and steady recovery.
GET WELL SOON :)
by DCowboy on May 2, 2009 11:05 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Best Wishes
From the Eagles Community to those injured and affected by this problem. We hope that you may recover from this and the injured get back to speed as soon as possible.
knowshon... Knowshon... KNOWSHON!!!!
by anuj on May 2, 2009 11:11 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
classy
"They need security in the world, Craig!"
by Tuna Helper on May 2, 2009 11:28 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Nice
Wish Coach Johnson the best on your end.
by illcowboy on May 3, 2009 4:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Very Classy
Despite feuds and rivalries we sometimes seem to forget that real people are just playing a game. Any these people have lives just like we do. When tragedy strikes its good to know that football fans can put aside differences and come together. Much appreciated.
Semper Fi.
by UnNecessary Roughness on May 3, 2009 7:32 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Very nice
One of your brethren on another site posted that he was upset that no one was seriously hurt, he hates all Cowboys, yada yada yada! . Even though you know that people like that are not the norm, it’s nice to have someone like you step to the plate and represent your team and fans in a better light. It’s MUCH appreciated.
by John Boy on May 3, 2009 8:26 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I laughed when I first saw this
and now I’m sorry. That was not cool. When I saw a coach’s back is broken and could have been paralyzed… NO JOKE.
I hope the injured recover soon and hopefully having everyone pull together can help this team. When I heard that teammates where helping to pull each other out of the wreckage, that is team building right there. It sucks it has to happen that way, but this could be the team’s Alamo.
Good luck.
"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."
by showtime on May 3, 2009 10:36 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Man, every time I watch that video I get serious chills
Still amazed that no one died. Hopefully everyone recovers fully.
"So you can’t stiff arm at all? What about the throat?"- Marion "Barbarian" Barber
by DC_fan on May 2, 2009 11:22 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Crazy.
Can’t believe this happened.
"They need security in the world, Craig!"
by Tuna Helper on May 2, 2009 11:28 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Coach Joe
Speedy recovery to Coach Joe and everyone else injured today. Does anyone know what kind of recovery time Coach DeCamillis is looking at? Do you think he’ll be able to coach again this year? Between Coach DeCamillis and our draft I was hoping for much improved special teams play. Prayers going out for Coach Joe and all the people involved today, here’s hoping DeCamillis recovers quickly and completely and can get back to doing what he loves.
by TK19 on May 2, 2009 11:36 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
You're not going to know anything for awhile.
Until they actually do the surgery alot depends on any pressure/damage to the spine itself, which will determine rehab time,etc.
by Benthere on May 2, 2009 11:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yep, hard to gauge.
Not sure if it’s a compression fracture. A rough guess is that he’s looking at least a month or two limited to a recliner or bed rest, with no driving, and probably at least 4 months in a back brace, with the exception of when he’s sleeping. He can’t do anything physical for a long time, but I’m hopeful he’ll be on the sidelines for the preseason.
by NerdVernacular on May 3, 2009 9:19 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
just saw this on espn.com
Update: As of 12:08 a.m. ET, a Cowboys scout named Rich Behm is undergoing surgery on his spinal cord at a Dallas hospital, according to a source close to the family. DeCamillis, who is former NFL head coach Dan Reeves’ son-in-law, has two broken vertebrae, according to sources.
by TARHEEL PAUL on May 3, 2009 12:14 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Get well soon Joe and Rich...
Our thoughts and prayers are with you both.
by troysboys on May 3, 2009 12:21 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
My thoughts and prayers go to everyone...
involved.. Get well Joe
"We play to win the game" - Herm Edwards
by nicholas.rodriguez on May 3, 2009 1:43 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Everyone is talking about Joe, and that is bad,
but what is the story with Rich Behm? Spinal cord surgery? Doesn’t sound good at all.
I am very sorry for the less visible member of the staff, hope he gets the support he needs.
by rha on May 3, 2009 7:05 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
The way I heard it described
on Sirius radio was, someone was impailed by flying debris. Thats probably who they were taliking about. Terrible
by fretman on May 3, 2009 7:17 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
With most tragedies
emerge heros. Props to DeAngelo Smith and Brandon Williams for helping out Todd Archer trapped in the debris
by fretman on May 3, 2009 8:25 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
I dont even know what to say...
This is horrible, thank God no one is dead. Still unfortunate that some guys were seriously hurt. What a situation for these rookies to walk into.
Jerry Jones could go in his sock, slap you wit a stack of hundreds, then catch you again on the backswing wit 3 Super Bowl rings. So who the hell are you makin' fun of?
by Carl Shelton (GloryDayz88) on May 3, 2009 8:43 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
amazing
no one was killed especially with those lights raining down. Those suckers are no joke. Imagine someone chucking 25 pound dumbells at your head
by fretman on May 3, 2009 9:01 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Eastman posted a blog on DC.com...
early this a.m. This is prett wild:
" Yes, we’re technically indoors, but the safety of this structure is in serious jeopardy. Although I might have been the closest one to the door, watching a flying portable toilet soar through the air didn’t make anyone real excited about going outside. "
Take a look if you get a chance.
If the whole link is not hyperlinked, just copy and paste into your browser.
by BVandy on May 3, 2009 10:43 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Good Luck Joe D
He was a great coach here in Jacksonville, and I wish him good luck in his recovery. You guys are lucky to have him, he’s a hell of a special teams coach.
Thats Good For Another Jacksonville... First Down.
by Bestjagfan on May 3, 2009 11:08 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
another class act
thanks for lending some balance to the bad apples trashing the ’Boys on other sites…
much appreciated… if you read the replies to the Eagles fan in the beginning of these comments, I’m sure we all echo the same for you.
Tar Heels = National Champs in Basketball ... top 5 in Baseball ... Top 10 this year in Football?
by DalaiLuke on May 3, 2009 12:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yet another class-act comment, lifted from Mosley's ESPN Blog ... just to balance all the ignorance out there...
RIFF1060 (5/4/2009 at 12:22 AM)
as a diehard skins fan its hard for me to say this but watching those guys, with the hated star on their helmets, try to make sure no one was stuck under the rubble made me proud to be a human being. how can i hate on a person for what SPORTS TEAM HE PLAYS FOR. when 21 died i saw dallas players with his number on their helmets after the leauge said they could take them off. to wish harm on a player of a rival team is assinine. i hope everyone injured makes a full recovery and my thoughts are with the cowboys staff and players. GO SKINS!!
Tar Heels = National Champs in Basketball ... top 5 in Baseball ... Top 10 this year in Football?
by DalaiLuke on May 3, 2009 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
That's cool.
I remember how sad I was as a kid when Philly’s Jerome Brown died. The Sean Taylor thing was a heartbreaking tragedy.
Even though such things happen to rival teams, the sport of the NFL takes a backstage to humanity.
Go Pacquiao!
by Aaron Novinger on May 3, 2009 12:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Man
I was out all day and night yesterday and I come home to read this? This is just unreal. How everyone got out of there alive is beyond me but am glad they did. Best wishes to the injured. Hope everyone has a full and speedy recovery.
by sublimezg on May 3, 2009 1:35 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
This really is an amazing story. Its unreal that no one was on the wrong side of one of those huge beams or light fixtures. I’ve watched the video 5 or 6 times now and cant believe that its real.
Thoughts and Prayers to those injured.
-Eagles Fan
by GreenInBaltimore on May 3, 2009 7:41 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
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