Best Article Written About Failure of John Fox and Coaching Staff

[Seltzer]

Is at Profootballweekly... Great non-speculative site (unlike Profootballtalk) where they actually interview league executives and GM's.

http://www.profootballweekly.com/2010/10/18/panthers-going-nowhere-fast

And the statements against John Fox are telling... The rest of the league is much more in agreement that bad (and straight-up lazy coaching) are the biggest reason this team is 0-5...

"The Panthers have enough talent to be competitive," said one league executive. "They have a bad coaching staff. I don't know how good Fox is at evaluating. I think he is a good head coach — he knows how to coach and motivate a team, but there's a lot more to the job than that nowadays.

"If you look at their roster, probably 75 percent of it is (comprised of) draft picks. They have a young roster, and if you are going to play young, you better have a strong coaching staff that is invested. Their coaching staff is working on the last year of their deals. They don't know where they will be after this year. They are more worried about their next jobs than they are about coaching this football team."

That especially appears to be the case with Fox.

"They have the second-longest-tenured head coach in the (NFC)," the executive said of Fox. "He's nine years in. He is set up for life. I don't think he works at it the way he did when he came into the job."

The article is not very kind to the rest of the coaching staff either... As much as I hate it, it is obvious the rest of the league views the Panthers right now as a complete disaster from top to bottom...

Owner not committed to team in 2010... Coaches not committed to team in 2010... At what point do players lose their committment to 2010?

I'm not a pessimist but the next 11 weeks are going to be tough as a fan and a PSL holder. Richardson is going to have a big mess to clean up this off-season

[Dpantherman]

"Is Jimmy Clausen the answer?" the league executive wondered aloud. "I don't know. He has not done very well there, but he got thrown into a situation where he did not have a (bleeping) receiver on that team. His O-line is not blocking for (anything). They have no running game — despite having two of the best backs in the league — and they have no pass catchers with No. 89 (Smith) in and out of the lineup.

"You're expecting a rookie to go in there and execute in that setup. How could you not expect him to fail? If he were here under those circumstances, I would not have forced him into the lineup."

In summary, as one league insider put it, the Panthers have much bigger concerns right now than Clausen.

"It's not on the quarterback," the insider told PFW. "You could throw Joe Montana in the lineup, and he would be struggling, with the way they are coaching."

*gasp*

[CRA]

they make some good points.

coaches that could not get it done in Cleveland are now coaching for Carolina, and it's the same story.

[Dpantherman]

and as far as Im concerned, Fox can screw himself. Lame duck or not, no vets or vets, he has a job to do, and is getting $6.5 million to do it. I have zero sympathy for him.

[Peppers90 NC]

This article is dead-on. I am now convinced we are not doing enough as an entire team Mon-Friday.

[PantherBrew]

I love watching the Panthers play, good or bad, but I feel like I cant wait til the season is over so we can actually make some big changes.

[Peppers90 NC]

I love watching the Panthers play, good or bad, but I feel like I cant wait til the season is over so we can actually make some big changes.

I think we will see some glimpses of good play this year, but not enough to not be happy when the season is over.

[The Saltman]

great article, hit the nail on the head.

[CRA]

This article is dead-on. I am now convinced we are not doing enough as an entire team Mon-Friday.

well, we have incompetent people leading the way.....doing more probably doesn't help when you are doing the wrong things.

We basically went to Clev to get our offense. OC and QB coach.....no wonder we suck on offense.

[Brooklyn Bully]

Best article written on this team in a long while.

"They are coaching scared, playing not to lose instead of going for the win," the talent evaluator said. "They are clearly young, but you got to be able to trust your players. They are keeping it all far too simple."

We've been playing not to lose for years now. Buck always says on WFNZ to look at Sam Bradford. "They open up the playbook for him. With Jimmy, they dumb it down."

"If you look at their roster, probably 75 percent of it is (comprised of) draft picks. They have a young roster, and if you are going to play young, you better have a strong coaching staff that is invested. Their coaching staff is working on the last year of their deals. They don't know where they will be after this year. They are more worried about their next jobs than they are about coaching this football team."

But, but, we build through the draft! This whole thing is a mess.

"Is Jimmy Clausen the answer?" the league executive wondered aloud. "I don't know. He has not done very well there, but he got thrown into a situation where he did not have a (bleeping) receiver on that team. His O-line is not blocking for (anything). They have no running game — despite having two of the best backs in the league — and they have no pass catchers with No. 89 (Smith) in and out of the lineup.

"You're expecting a rookie to go in there and execute in that setup. How could you not expect him to fail? If he were here under those circumstances, I would not have forced him into the lineup. It's not on the quarterback," the insider told PFW. "You could throw Joe Montana in the lineup, and he would be struggling, with the way they are coaching."

The truth hurts.

[The Saltman]

it's sad when as a football fan u want the season to end fast so u can get to the next one.

[scpanther22]

I hope we dont David Carr..Clausen this year.

[Acewalker]

What also sucks, is that we can't even really evaluate our players when we run this shitty offense. Hell, Jimmy could be doing as well as Sam Bradford if he played in their scheme for all we know. We're running a diluted offense that gives nothing but frustration to our fans and our team seemingly. GAHHH

[Seltzer]

and as far as Im concerned, Fox can screw himself. Lame duck or not, no vets are not, he has a job to do, and is getting $6.5 million to do it. I have zero sympathy for him.

Agree 100%... He wasn't whining about the lack of talent and a "budget" when JR gave him his first head coaching job taking over a 1-15 team...

This isn't the first article talking about the lack of quality coaches on Fox's coaching staff, which have went progressively downhill since he's been here.

Henning and Del Rio (and even Trgovac) are a far cry from Davidson and Meeks.

I know Meeks gets props here but he is not very well-regarded nationally. Meeks is a very likeable coach, but the general consensus is that he is not a very strong or demanding coach. People believe Dungy protected him in Indy even when he had under-performing units, and Polian showed him the door once Dungy was gone.

Most league people think the defense remains competive b/c of Fox, which I agree.

And Davidson is a joke. Worst play-calling I've ever seen at the pro level given the players on this team. Maybe some of the blame lies with Fox as well, but it's lazy, unimaginative, self-defeating, garbage.

St. Louis is in a similar situation on offense and they are finding ways to get their playmakers involved, put points on the board, and win games.

It does make you wonder why... Does Fox not want strong voices (and coaches) on his staff or can he not attract top assistants? Either way, the Panthers have suffered b/c of this, and I'm sure JR has taken notice...

The mass exodus of coaches after the 2008 season is still strange to me

Fox is a very good (if not great) Defensive Coordinator, but he does not have the makings of a great head coach. Average maybe, but not great and not even very good. And 9 years is a large enough sample size to make a judgement.