John Fox: Why He Shouldn't Be Criticized, Panthers Fans

Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox has been the target of a great deal of criticism in the past two years from his team's fans.  "Fire him," they say. 

I think that that's because he took the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2003, his second year at the helm of the team.  He also took the Panthers to the NFC Championship game in 2005, only to lose to the Seattle Seahawks.  His early success blinded Panthers fans and spoiled them quite a bit. 

Since then Fox has not led the team to a record better than 8-8.  In addition, the team has not had a winning record in any year in which they did not make the playoffs. 

But in spite of his questionable track record above, Fox should not be criticized. 

He has led the Panthers to a 56-47 record under his guidance. 

He is the fifth head coach in NFL history to record four career postseason road wins.  He equaled an NFL record with four consecutive postseason road wins.  Fox currently ranks third among active NFL head coaches in postseason road wins, trailing only Tom Landry (seven) and Joe Gibbs (five).    

In 2004, a season marred by countless injuries, he led a Panthers team that started 1-7 to a final record of 7-9.  Of the 28 NFL teams to start 1-7 since 1990, the Panthers became only the third team to finish with seven wins.  The Panthers barely missed a Wild Card playoff spot that year.  It's worth noting that the Panthers lost star wide receiver Steve Smith for 15 games that season.   

In 2003 he led the Panthers to Super Bowl XXXVIII in his second season after inheriting a one-win team in 2001.  He is one of only three coaches to inherit a team that won a single game one season and lead it to the postseason the next.  The other two coaches are Vince Lombardi and Bill Parcells.  That same year the Panthers matched an NFL record by notching seven wins by three points or less, and they made the game-winning drive in overtime or with less than two minutes to play in regulation seven times.  

In 2002 he guided a six-game turn-around from 2001 that is the third-best for a rookie head coach since 1978, when the 16-game regular season schedule was implemented.  The only rookie head coaches who did more are Jim Haslett (2000) and Bobby Ross (1992).   The Panthers became the lone team since 1970 to improve from 31st to second in total defense in one year in the same season.  The six-game improvement was the best in the NFL that year.  The Panthers also doubled their sack total in 2002 from 2001 with 52.  That mark is the second-most in team history. 

Before he became the Panthers' head coach, in 2000 he helped the Giants post the first shutout in conference championship game history since 1986.  The Giants advanced to Super Bowl XXXV that year, too.

His 41 wins in his first four years are more than double the number the Panthers had in the four seasons leading up to Fox's arrival—20.

When you add up all the facts, Panthers head coach John Fox is an amazing coach and definitely should not be criticized by anyone.  It's no wonder Panthers owner Jerry Richardson has been so adamant to let him keep his job even though his last two seasons haven't gone well.