Finally got around to reading the Foxsports.com report that John Fox was No. 1 on the NFL hot seat, meaning that Fox is the head coach most likely to be canned.
I don't know if Fox will coach the Carolina Panthers in 2011. I'll be surprised if he is. But if Fox goes, it's as likely to be his idea as it is the team's. Engines wear out, knees wear out and relationships wear out, too. The relationship between Fox and the Panthers probably is in danger of expiring.
The NFL, however, thinks more highly of Fox than fans of the Panthers do. I can easily see him coaching the New York Giants or Cleveland Browns next season.
We like to speculate. I'm speculating about New York and Cleveland. Last summer somebody at ESPN speculated that the Panthers were one of the teams most likely to sign Michael Vick. The Panthers were more likely to go undefeated than they were to sign Vick. But somebody said it so somebody believed it.
Carolina did not extend Fox's contract after last season. They didn't extend the contract of any assistant coach or of general manager Marty Hurney, either. Thus, there was speculation, some of it local, that Hurney was gone. Hurney, however, has a job with the Panthers as long as he chooses to.
If Carolina has another washed out 8-8 season like the last one, I am certain that Fox and the Panthers will part, and I suspect the parting will be mutual.
So is Fox on Carolina's hot seat or is Carolina on Fox's?
In this case, the term doesn't apply.
Couldn't have said it better myself. I actually think it is the latter more than the former.
It will be a big mistake losing FOX. I got an idea? Maybe we can hire George Seifort?
How easy we forget the BAD times.
Go Panthers
Posted by: DavethePanther | August 27, 2010 at 12:53 AM
My Bad Seifert
Posted by: DavethePanther | August 27, 2010 at 01:37 AM
Interesting, while it many, including myself, feel that John Fox will be gone with a mediocre season. I imagine that regardless of the teams record, there will be a long line of suitors. Maybe the relationship with the panthers has gone stale or its time for new scenery. But the previous years have shown that the status quo it quit low and it might just take a new coach to bring a new approach
Posted by: Easy E | August 27, 2010 at 03:13 AM
Watching the Gruden special on the Saints last night and thought how nice it must be to have a coach like that. He has a solid plan for everything, like practices, and PRESEASON BLITZ PICKUP!
Everytime I listen to another teams coach say something of substance I'm jealous of those fans.
Fox's play it safe strategies are not complex or hard to duplicate. I think true success with him as a coach relies on the players not the system since he seems incapable of tailoring a plan to fit the personnel he has from year to year.
When have you ever thought during a Panther game, "What a great call by the coaches!"
A win by his teams usually feels lucky.
I look forward to whatever is next after years of eating plain vanilla ice cream with no toppings.
Posted by: Sportsdon | August 27, 2010 at 08:05 AM