You're Wrong About John Fox: He's Not a Top-Tier Coach

John Fox's tenure with the Carolina Panthers will be remembered by the cliche, "Consistently inconsistent." 

Outside of Carolina though, there is the thought that he is a "next level coach." John Fox has that reputation because of the players he's coached.

It's safe to say that coaching plays a strong part in the success of a football team.  Some teams succeed because of their coach, with a less than stellar talented roster.

Some teams succeed in spite of their coach, with a roster with incredibly talented players and a coach that doesn't quite get it.

From the outside looking in, John Fox is the good coach with the good players.  The team though, as a whole, is either a contender or mid-level mess. 

John Fox's ultra-conservative play calling has been a crippling blow to the Panthers on several occasions.  If he isn't calling a super-conservative game, he's going against that vs. a team with a top tier pass defense.

The most recent evidence of that is the Buffalo Bills game from earlier in the 2009 season.  The Bills came in with one of the worst defenses against the run, but conversely one of the best defenses against the pass. 

With DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart both active for the game, it was safe to assume before kickoff that the Panthers would "Keep Pounding."

The game didn't resemble that game plan at all.  Instead the Panthers came out throwing and never stopped. 

Jake Delhomme's 41 pass attempts ranks among the highest number of attempts in his career.  Stewart and Williams combined number of carries doesn't match up to either of their usual workload.

It would be easy to say that Fox was trying to go against the grain and outsmart the trends. 

In another coach's case, that would be a safe bet.  In the case of John Fox, it is bullheadedness and inability to let his best assets be his best assets.

Jeff Davidson the offensive coordinator, shares some of the blame in this. However, he doesn't control as much of the offense as a normal offensive coordinator should. 

As I and numerous others have mentioned on more than one occasion, Dan Henning was fired as Offensive Coordinator of the Carolina Panthers, and a few months later he unleashed the wildcat on the NFL in Miami.

Jeff Davidson was heralded as an offensive up-and-comer who would one day be a head coach.  He came in to Carolina and nothing changed.

The flea flicker is still the trick play.  The wide receiver screen is still the go to when it comes to quick passing yards and the draw play on third and twelve plus is still in style.

If you watch a Carolina Panthers game from 2002 and 2003 and then go down the line and break down the game film from each game of the seasons since you see amazing similarities. 

Heck, break down or just casually observe one game from each quarter of the season and you will see very few, if any differences.

I don't claim extensive inside knowledge when it comes to the Panthers organization.  I give both sides of what I observe and hear. 

When the brothers Richardson, Mark and Jon resigned their posts within the organization two main schools of thought took center stage.

Thought one was that neither of them knew football and had those jobs because of their father.  This is a widely accepted opinion.

Thought two, however, is a dig beneath the surface and think on the edges or outside of the box scenario.  They were considered to be the heirs to the throne.  They would be the men who took over the team when their father either stepped down or passed away. 

It was stated that they left because they had no confidence (like a portion of the fan base) that the organization was aggressive enough or smart enough to make moves when moves needed to be made.

John Fox would seem to be the dictator of the Panther Nation.  One would be foolish to discount the "Big Cat" Jerry Richardson at this point.  That may or may not be a good thing. 

Richardson has stuck with Fox through thick and thin.  He wants consistency in his organization, but while maintaining consistency on his staff, he's maintained consistent inconsistency on the field.

One would think that following the 2010 season a major shakeup would be at hand.  While it's normal and hopeful to keep that hope, it isn't something to bet the house on.  While it seems imminent, it seems just as unlikely. 

The Panthers will strongly compete for the NFC South in 2010.  A 10- or 12-win regular season and a playoff win would nearly guarantee Fox at least four more years in Carolina.