Dolphins' coach Joe Philbin is scared to see himself on 'Hard Knocks'

HBO's "Hard Knocks" might have thought the Miami Dolphins were the right team to showcase on the summer series about an NFL training camp, but it has been revealed that one of the show's anticipated stars, new head coach Joe Philbin, might be camera-shy.

Philbin said he has a history of skin cancer and is concerned that appearances on the series will show him with an embarrassingly swollen face.  The first year head coach said it is caused by not paying attention to the dosage for the cream he uses to treat it.

"I must have put on too much," said Philbin.  "The thing swelled up.  It looked like I got hit with five left-hooks right in my forehead," he told reporters last week.

"The point of the story is that I had to do a an HBO interview, so I've got this hat, I can't even put on it on. . . I've got this big scab hanging off my lip.  So it's on the thing."

You would think media-hog Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson (an off-season Dolphins pick-up) would be the center of the producer's attention, but it's Philbin's back story and challenges as a first year coach that have trained the camera's lens on their reluctant break-out star.

The quiet coach is not as profane or larger than life as 2010's big star, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, but Philbin brings his own kind of drama to the series.

Philbin is still getting over the pain of losing his 21-year old son to a drowning accident in a frozen river last winter and has the enormous challenge of taking over a losing team he has never coached.

Philbin said he does not plan to watch himself after seeing a small preview of the show HBO has been showing.

"I'm looking and I'm like ,'Oh, God''" Philbin said of his reaction.  :"Am I scared of me on TV, yeah."

"I'm not scared of the information or leakage or any of that kind of stuff," he said opposing teams might use against his squad.  "I'm not worried about that one bit, but I am worried about me."