Normally in this space on Friday, I try to break down the Panthers' next game and offer a prediction as to how it will turn out.
I'll do the prediction only this time -- I think Atlanta will win 38-6 -- but otherwise will leave the rest of the notes on the Panthers-Atlanta game for the "Scott Says" version that will be published in the print edition of our Sunday sports section.
Instead, I want to talk about John Fox for a moment here. Fox has had his ups and downs as a Panther coach over a nine-year period, and certainly there are things he could do better.
But in general, I want to commend Fox, who was officially told by Jerry Richardson what we have all known for a long time Friday -- that his contract (and the contracts of his assistants) will not be renewed for 2011.
Fox is a good man and a good coach, and this about-to-be-2-14-season is simply a bad ending for him. He will rebound from this.
I got an e-mail this afternoon from a reader named Joshua Spurlock of Charlotte who wrote:
Scott,
Any chance you could do a post or a story allowing us Panther fans to thank John Fox for his time as coach? He deserves to hear our appreciation and it would be nice to formally post it somewhere online. If so, here are my comments:
Coach Fox -- Thanks for the memories, especially that amazing Super Bowl run. Some of my all-time favorite sports moments came during your years as a Panther. Thanks for never quitting and never letting your players quit, either. Hope you have a great run with your next team, and for our sake that it's in the AFC.
Joshua
If anyone else would like to chime in like Joshua and thank Coach Fox for some moment over the past 9 years -- now that the Panthers have finally made it official and said that Fox won't return in 2011 -- feel free to comment below.
We're moving!
9 years ago
Posts
102 comments:
Thank you John Fox for 9 year of promoting the correct attitude of winning and class. Not once can I remember when you acted without class. You represented the area and team with class and decorum. You took your hits without throwing anyone under the bus. You were loyal and dedicated and for that I thank you. While I also think it's time for a change I'm hoping that at least the following coach can use your steps as a guide on personal conduct.
Again, Thank you and good luck in the future.
Why isn't the observer reporting richardson's announcement regarding fox. It's on nil.com.
...crickets
Hahah kidding. You were a decent, average coach, John Fox. Thanks.
Thanks Coach Fox for never once surprising me or any opposing teams with any originality or deviation from your 1990's Giants style of football. I hope you can enjoy 3 out of 9 winning seasons on your next job.
Amen to that, pass the pork loin, mashed potatoes, collard greens and black-eyed peas!
soooo, what's everyone doing for new year's eve?
Coach Fox:
While you may have found your condesending answers to reporters questions as quick and witty as a PSL owner I found it embarrasing.
I have nighmares of draw plays on
3rd and 14. You were never innovative always sticking to plays from the 60's.
You seem like a nice man however as a coach you will always be a middle of the road .500 coach.
The players may like you because they like being able to be underacheivers and still getting your slap on the back.
Your failure to see the demise of Jake Delhomme was blind loyalty.
It is what is is and it was what it was....AVERAGE.
Thanks Coach Fox for everything the past 9 years. You deserved better this season. Please take all openings in the AFC into consideration before looking at the NFC.
I can't say whether you were a good or bad coach. I didn't play for you.
I can say that your tenure as coach had enormous peaks and lengthy valleys and there were more valleys than peaks. How much of that was your fault and how much was the fault of the talent foist upon you could be debated endlessly.
Anyway, thanks for the work you did; I wish it had turned out better.
Run, run, pass, punt
Coach Fox, thank you for being a man of character. Few men could be as gracious as you have been under the pressure and criticism you have faced.
Dear Coach Fox,
I want to personally thank you for fostering loyalty with your players and any fan that encountered you in person.
Even though training camp heat was always in the 95-100 degree range, you would stand there for hours and make sure that any and all fans got their items signed and you were cordial to everyone.
You are a man of high class and I know you gave this job all you had for the past 9 years.
For that I thank you and I wish you all the best in the future.
Thanks for 9 good years. If you end up taking next year off, why not join us at our tailgate before the games?
Thanks Coach Fox. Good luck!
Coach Fox:
You've been an excellent representative of the organization through the years, and there's no doubt in this fans mind that you have always done everything you could to win games for us. People remember things like the Cardinals playoff loss while forgetting that until then we were undefeated at home. Your style of football is old school which can tick off some people, but look at all the come from behind wins we've had over the years because of your philosophy of keeping games close and on the ground.
Good luck and success to you whereever you end up (unless its with the Falcons LOL)
Don't blame this coach this time , the the owner .
It's obvious everyone needed a change. I think Panthers fans forget just how bad a coach can be though.
Fox has been a good coach and his teams never quit on him. I wish him the best of luck in the future.
Thank You John Fox for coming to Charlotte and turning a mess into half a decade of excitement. While there are high's and low's with all sport teams, you exhibited class through it all, most especially the last two seasons where you didn't have tools to work with. As with all things, I didn't personally agree with much of the "O" philosophy but you did have a solid "D". I wish you well wherever you go next and again thank you for providing some very exciting times at BOA Stadium over the past 9 seasons.
Mr. Fox, thank you for bringing Charlotte a Super Bowl, and for leading our team these past 9 years. It was a great ride, and you will be missed. Good luck with your future team.
John Fox, Thanks for the great memories!!!! The great playoff games, the Super Bowl!!!! I will remember those great once in a lifetime trips!!! Thanks for everything!!!! Trish & Richard PSL'ers.....
This comment from above sums it up perfectly. Here it is again. Don't sugar coat reality people.
Coach Fox:
While you may have found your condesending answers to reporters questions as quick and witty as a PSL owner I found it embarrasing.
I have nighmares of draw plays on
3rd and 14. You were never innovative always sticking to plays from the 60's.
You seem like a nice man however as a coach you will always be a middle of the road .500 coach.
The players may like you because they like being able to be underacheivers and still getting your slap on the back.
Your failure to see the demise of Jake Delhomme was blind loyalty.
Too many fans forget how difficult it is to win in the NFL. I thank you for your class, character and integrity. You have been a good face for the team and for Charlotte. I don't envy Mr. Richardson for the choice he has to make. He has yet to pick a better coach than you.
Coach Fox:
Thanks for a .500 record, 3 winning seasons in 9 years, a boring offense with almost no points, empty stadiums, predictability, FG's and punts, no QB, and treating the local media like garbage.
Feel free not to make the trip to Atlanta; I wish you would have taken the Buffalo job.
Don't let the door hit you in the hind parts on your way out.
Im Going To Do iT,
I applaud you for being one of the few people who want to tell the truth around here like you did on the "Scott Says" topic about Andrew Luck from earlier in the day. As for John Fox he was a good coach. I think it was terrible the way he was expected to cook dinner this season after all of the groceries were given away.
Thank you, John Fox. As with all sports, you will see detractors posting if everything hasn't gone right all the time. Regardless if you as head coach do not have control of everything (player selection to name one), you would get the blame. You have not passed that buck and you have handled it with an extreme amount of class.
Thanks for the memories. I wish you the best.
THANK YOU! I'm proud to have had you as the leader of our team. Just like Jake, you guys are awesome!
Thank you for doing a job of protecting the Carolinas from many of the negative personalities who have infected sports, and allowing fans to cheer for players who do their best to play their best football, whatever the outcome. At the start, the game plan worked well, but it seems that multitudinous changes have thwarted further pursuit in the same vein. Best of luck to you.
Thanks for having us out of playoff contention by Halloween!
Good riddance. Can you take Steve Smith with you?
Obrigado Coach Fox! Thanks for your consistent positive attitude through the good and bad times. Thanks for all your hardwork and devotion to your players. It is obvious that your players love playing for you. Good luck at your next stop- your future players will be lucky to have you! Boa sorte, Good Luck!
Coach Fox,
Thank you for your leadership and positive, professional attitude on the field and kind and giving attitude with fans. My sister worked in the sports informaiton field when when you were a coach at Pitt and said you were a great guy. In my several brief encounters, usually at the Wachovia / Well Fargo golf event, I could not agree more.
As a season ticket holder and loyal Panthers fan, I appreciate all that you've done for the players, the team, the ownership and the city.
My young son has aspirations to play or coach in the NFL someday. Perhaps the highest compliment that I could pay you is to say that when I point out role models for my son, you are at the top of the list.
It is not if you get knocked down that counts, but if you get back up. I am sure you will be up again...
I sincerely wish you the best in whatever opportunities come your way.
John, you're a class act. Sorry you were stabbed in the back by Marty and JR. Maybe it was time but I still think Hurney needed to go first.
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!!!! YOUR PHOTO WILL REMAIN ON OUR WALL IN THE DEN WITH JAKE'S AND JON CASEY'S. GOOD LUCK TO YOU---YOU WON'T NEED IT THOUGH---I'M SURE YOU WILL SUCCEED WITH YOUR NEXT TEAM.
CAROLINA CAROL
ACE
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You seem to be genuine professionally and personally be true to yourself ,learn from your mistake;soon you will be in a better situation.
PS please!!!!!!!!!!! stay out of NFC South
ACE
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You seem to be genuine class act professionally and personally be true to yourself ,learn from your mistake;soon you will be in a better situation.
PS please!!!!!!!!!!! for our sake stay out of NFC South
Coach Fox,
Thanks for nine seasons, including the most successful season in Panthers history. During your time in Charlotte, 20 of the 32 teams in the NFL never got to a Super Bowl.
I wish you great success in your next NFL job. Maybe RIchardson can bring Siefert out of retirement to remind the fans what they have missed these last nine years.
how about a note to Mr. Richardson, "don't stop with just FOX & coaching staff...Marty Hurney & his SCOUTING dept should ALL GET pink slips too....his repeated trading of picks & overall drafts have been pathetic...
Thank you John Fox, you gave Charlotte some wonderful memories and great times. You did the best you could do with the power you had in your reach. Best of luck to you in the future.
Coach Fox, I think you know as well as others know, that Marty Hurney should be selling his home in Charlotte too. Good luck.
Thank you, John Fox, for being such a class act throughout your nine years as Panthers coach. I'm really saddened at the ridiculous way you were treated this season but awed by your focus and dedication to the Panther organization nonetheless. You have my respect and I wish you only the BEST in your next coaching job. I think you are going to be extremely hard to replace. I'll remain loyal to the Panthers but I'll always wish you success with your next team.
Thanks for your mediocrity. You have been among the highest paid head coaches in the league for years yet you have only produced 3 winning seasons in 9 years. Most of us would be fired for a 33% success rate. Thankfully you didn't go into medicine, the law or trash collection. Hope you got your agent a nice Xmas present.
Thank you Fox and good luck with future endeavors. Once a Carolinian always a Carolinian.
I have been a PSL owner from the beginning. The thing I remember was when the Panthers went to St. Louis to play the greatest show on turf. We were not given a chance to win. I remember when Steve Smith caught the pass and ran in for a score. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Alot of good memories. NFL football has taught me a good lesson. Enjoy the good times because they are few and far between. Good luck on your next job. Mike C.
Thank you coach Fox for 9 years of boring, conservative, run run run run, punt, run run run some more 1923 brand of football. It allowed me to enjoy many long naps at BOA stadium.
Its a given that no team will be giving you a head coaching job anytime soon. But if you ever do resurfac as a HC I hope and pray that its in the NFC South. I would love nothing more than to play your predictable team twice a year.
John Fox has been a class act all the way. A man is only as good as his tools and JR didn't even give him a hammer to bang in a nail into a piece of wood. Look at what JR did to this team this year all because of a lock out that may or may not happen. JR SUCKS! He sucked when he owned Spartan Food systems of which I worked for his organization then and he SUCKS now!! He is the worst owner, I'd rather have a Jerry Jones than a no good, lying, deceitful, manipulative cheat like Jerry Richardson. If you do not believe me, just ask his sons what they think about what he did to them. He is not a man of his word and he has decimated the 2010 Panthers and that came out of his own mouth to the PSL owners. (He doesn't care about you and me the average fan)
Personally, I hope he is gone (6 foot under) before he ever sees the Panthers win a Superbowl. Take that as you wish but he SUCKS. He sucked at Spartan Foods, he sucks now. I agree with a lot of these other posters, sell the panthers to someone who really cares about winning because he sure didn't in 2010. Just my honest "blue collar" opinion!
Cobrabitn
Thank you for all the good times you and the Panthers have provided the City of Charlotte over the years. Good luck on your next job in the NFL, I'm sure you won't be out of work for long........
The fact that the announcement did not make official the FIRING of Marty Hurney says everything about the ineptness of this franchise and the continued mediocrity for the future.
Marty Hurney is a freakin snake! It's amazing to me how people like him get these titles in the first place.
It's always the good people who are shown the door and the bad people are always the ones who end up keeping their jobs.
Go figure. Hurney will always be a fraud in my opinion.
Thanx for some great memories, Coach Fox. Thanx for the Super Bowl and NFC Championships! And, most of all, thanx for the "Cardiac Cats"!!! They sure played some great football then!!
Unlike the team owner, YOU, sir, are a class act!
I wish you well in the future (as long as it's not in the NFC!) Glad you were a part of the Carolina Panthers organization, and I, for one, WILL miss you! Good luck, John Fox!!!
Thank you Mr Fox.Please do everything you can to get Davidson hired as an offensive coordinator within the NFC South division so we won't have to worry about that team as an offensive threat.
Thank You Jerry Richardson!!!!! your as dumb as I thought. Marty Hurney is the weak link!!!! You have screwed the fans once again. your poethic letter to the PSL owners saying that you commeted to winning in Carolina. You wasted a good heart with your transplant. This is the NFL not flipping burgers at Hardees which you made your millions on. You can't expect the PSL owners to continue to put up with your shi* Raised the price for tickets on PSL's owner this year and put that bunch of crap on the field! Im thinking about bringing you up on FRAUD CHARGES!!!! Putting that on the feild as a NFL team. FU JR and YWDF
As long a Marty Hurney is the GM, this team will suck. He knows nothing about talent or how to run a NFL team. If he is still around on draft day, he'll trade that #1 pick away and get nothing in return.....like he has before. Best thing for this team is for Richardson to sell out and the new owner keeps the team in Charlotte. He has lost it as an owner and just wants to play cheap....and 1-15 is what you get with cheap. Fox is a good coach and will be a head coach in the NFL next year. I feel sorry for the fans who paid thousands for the PSL rights, forced to buy season tickets, and get to watch a bad team in return.
One thing you can say about Fox...he came into a franchise that had finished 1-15, and he leaves having improved it to 3-13. Nice job, Foxy.
if you would have had the sense to fire Jeff davidson , you'd still be here
Coach Fox,
Thanks for your hard work in representing the Panthers in the NFL. I wish you and your family all the best wherever you land. You're a class act!
Thanks coach Fox. It was a great ride. I wish the best to you.
Your a first class coach John Fox. Thanks for the memories. There were several exiting seasons, games, and moments. In all I think you made the most with the cards you were dealt each year. Best of luck to you in the future.
THANK YOU JOHN FOX FOR TURNING US INTO WINNERS FOR A FEW YEARS...WHO ELSE CAN SAY THAT?1
tank you coach fox for the memories, the magic and the cardiac cats. you did more than give us a few winning seasons and a superbowl appearance, you have giving us an identity. for that we as fans cant thank you enough. best of luck with your new team.
Coach Fox,
Thank you for nine wonderful seasons. You turned this franchise into a winning program. I will always have fond memories of your tenure here. You're a fantastic coach, and I wish you the best of luck in the future!
Thank You Coach Fox for all you did here in the Carolina's. We did not always agree with everything you did, but such is sports and fans will always question their teams decisions from time to time.
I only wish you the very best, GOD be with you.
kenny43...i wish coach fox the best. i,in no way feel this disaster was his fualt. look at the product he was given to work with. i love our panthers but, until we get more agressive in the off-season with free agents and tweak the draft mentality, we are going to fall slightly short of our goal. drafting the "best available" player has seemed to get us a 53 man roster in which it feels like we have 15 of those spots filled by linebackers. smitty is a top-five caliber reciever, but we've wasted so much time without getting a viable threat on the other side, how much does he have left in the tank. sorry, gotta real myself in here, coach fox was great for this organization and will be for another. thanks for the memories coach!!!
the arizona playoff game said it all. we were the hottest team in the nfl and we got smoked b/c we passed it over and over again, regardless of the fact that our qb was not what made our offense tick, or even someone that could be relied on to win a game. That judgement was coaching. you should have been fired then. It's like with any job, it's not what you've done in the past (the super bowl) it's what you bring to the team in the now, and it's been disparaging for a few years running
Coach Fox,
I sincerely appreciate the way you have conducted yourself throughout your entire tenure here in Charlotte. Win or lose, I truly believe that you gave your best effort, no matter what the circumstances may have been. I appreciate the way your teams have conducted themselves on the field as well, never quitting. I've enjoyed the best moments this franchise has ever had during your tenure, and I've also seen you steer the ship out of some tough storms. People forget all the times that you led us out of some tight spots, whether it was a come from behind game or a losing streak that came to an end...you can't win 'em all, and you can't bypass every storm, but you tried. And more often than not, you succeeded. I wish your NFL coaching career would continue and play out right here in Charlotte. But I know it won't, because I have a feeling we'll see you again. Good luck and God bless you and your family, and thank you for everything you have done. And thanks for putting up with the haters who can't coach, and the scouts who can't scout, and Mick Mixon, too. Be well and have fun out there. There's a hole in one somewhere with your name on it.
Thanks John! Mr Richardson you owe the PSL's their money back for taking the rug out from Johns feet. We have to have good players to win not a drum team get real!!!
THANKS JOHN for your type of football coaching. The NFL has screw the game up/it not team play anymore/it superstar player game now.We will miss you. GOD BLESS YOU.
I moved to Charlotte the year the Panthers started play in the NFL. Coach Fox oversaw the maturity from expansion franchise to respectability.
Under his reign, teams took this club seriously. They played sound fundamental football. They had stretches of greatness where they exuded the confidence of a team that couldn't be stopped. In nine years they made the playoffs 3 times, going to the Super Bowl once and getting beat by the eventual NFC champs the other two. In two other Seasons, the Super Bowl winner came form their Division.
Many would criticize them for having more "losing seasons" than winners, but there are a ton of franchises that would love to make the playoffs every third year, and a few who have been in the NFL for decades that have never been there. I know, I grew up as a fan of one of them.
There are only two pre-eminent franchises, Dallas and Pittsburgh, that are seemingly in the hunt every year. You can add Indy and the Pats to the list in the recent modern era. Other than that, a 33% playoff record, with 2 Championship games and one Super Bowl is pretty damn good. Take away this season, which was complete waste, and the numbers are even better.
Personally, I am grateful to have watched them under his leadership. I have very fond memories of the Super Bowl party, watching Steven Davis bowl over people, Jake heaving passes up to Moose and Smith and them coming down with them, Casey as an automatic, Stewart and Williams the best combination since Mack and Byner, Peppers owning games and defenses that always kept them in games.
We went to a lot of games, but made a point to go to every home game in the 2008 season, and what a great season it was.
Thanks Coach Fox. As is usually the case, most people won't know what they are missing until it is gone.
Coach Fox....thank you for the class you always showed in your tenure with the Panthers. I never met you but I saw you on several occasions at Eddie's Place having breakfast with your wife. You were always friendly with everyone, and that is sometimes difficult in your position. All the best in your next coaching stop.
Hard to think of the Panthers without Coach Fox. Some people need to be reminded that winning with class is the only way to win. Hear that, New England?
Thanks for your time, Coach. I will miss you.
Thanks Coach Fox for a job well done cause you worked with the players you were dealt and they respect you for it.
You will hired with the next 30 to sixty days, a well earned vacation. Good luck and you will be able to review your prosperity a year from now.
Scott I listen to SIrrus NFL football very often and the word on there with some very knowledgable footballl people is that Jerry Richardson's leadership with this football team is ridiculous, he is not willing to spend money, it appears that he may be facing financial shortfalls and he is obviously unwilling to pay for talent.
Would you agree with those deductions and can you tell us just what on earth is going on with Jerry Richardson and the Carolina Panthers?
It appears to me personally that Richardson circled the wagons for some idiotic reason to protect himself while the rest of the NFL continued to play the game with wins and a Championship in mind and now we are the absolute worse thing going in Americas favorite sport.
And please explain to me how Jake Delomme implodes against Arizona, gets a raise and new conttract and that is when John Fox is first nudged towards the door? Do what now?
This all makes no sense to me and it probably makes no sense to many other fans, Mark and Jon Richardson and of course John Fox.
And finally was Jerry Richardson living elsewhere when George Shinn finally crossed the line and let Alonzo head out of town? Or is the PSL hostage situation strong enough that those monies are all that matters to the guy?
So where is Tom Sorensons article of congraulations to Fox? Isnt he the main one who led the charge to get Fox fired with his "The End of The Fox Era" 6 months ago like so many others in the past 20 yrs including get rid of Jake last year to screw up 2010?
Shouldnt Sorensen be called out for his azzholio tactics?
Dont forget that in 2011 Sorensen will be writing about what good chummy buds he and John Fox have become having reacquaited only after he runs them off since his past patterns are 100% predictable.
Heck next year Sorensen and Fox will be sitting down having a beer with Obama on the WH lawn...
Coach Fox,
I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for this franchise. We were 1-15 and you took us to the Super Bowl. You had your ups and downs but overall it has been a great 9 years. Good luck in the future and I hope to see you honored by the Panthers in the future.
Coach Fox, thanks for making me a Panthers fan and showing us that a Super Bowl can be possible.
What I have learned over the past two seasons especially is that your offense needs to be fine-tuned or a least hitting on all cylinders by the time preseason is over. If you don't score in the preseason, how can you expect to score in the regular season???? Also, your teams needs to adapt quicker to game situations. Adjustments were unapparent, too late or non-existent.
Good luck and God bless!
Thank you Coach Fox for your nine years here. For all the people out there who think you should have gone to the playoffs and further every year, get real. We don't have the staff like the Patriots, Steelers, etc. mainly because ownership won't hear to it. You can only do so much with average personnel. Every now and then you get lucky and the average players get a high and seemingly can't do anything wrong. It will be interesting to see who the Fox haters will blame for next years team. I'm sure they will find someone. As they say, be careful what you wish for
Thank you John Fox for being a great coach with a mild attitude. You never seemed to get upset when others put you down and talked of your coaching. You are the best coach we have had and will ever have. You keep your head high because we are the ones losing. You will get a great job when you leave us and hopefully a better relationship with the top dogs. Stand tall as we here will miss you and what you have done for us. Again, thank you, John Fox, for a great ride and good luck in all you do.
For all the whiny punk fans who blamed Fox for years?
UP YOURZ !!!!
Coach Fox, you were a very good coach for the Panthers, the best the franchise has had. You built teams that played the right way, with a commitment to fundamentals and toughness. Thanks for some magical moments.
(People using this as a space to whine: you're entitled to your opinion, but GET SOME CLASS. For real.)
Much respect for this coach, greedy owner wanting to get the best of out of substandard players.Need somebody to blame.
I didn't become a big football fan until the Panther's run to the NFC Championship in 2005. I had followed the Panther's Super Bowl, and it is one of the first football games that I remember watching. I have essentially grew up with John Fox being the coach of the Panthers, it greatly saddens me to see him go, though I am sure that he will have success where ever he goes next.
Fox. Man, what a run. I was upset, pissed, vengeful, stoic, happy, emotional, teary, timid, nervous, elated, satisfied and many other emotions throughout your years here. I sure am gonna miss the ol' draw play and your big dip you put in during the first half of almost every game. Good luck out there.
Thanks for the great years, John. Best of luck for your next stop.
Coach thanks for the great memories. Many people forget after the superbowl the playoff runs you had with injuries to key starters. None the less we were there in the hunt. You did a great job and like many corporations you're only as good as the people they hire to work. Don't even count this year on your resume, this is Jerry's and Marty's 2-14 or 3-13 year. You're a winning coach in my eyes. Just wish you would of had Jake call in sick on his days when he threw more than one int. None the less loved both of you guys as Panthers.
From Panther fan in Atlanta who hails from Matthews.
Once again, the Charlotte Observer disappoints me with a weak job of reporting. This paper "digs" for Absolutely NOTHING and never gives you more. I wanna know: WHY NOW? There had to be a reason to do this before the last game. C'Mon MAN! At least say you asked the question and got "no comment." Do some real reporting.
When you’re young, you identify with the players; when you age a bit, you identify with the coach, and when’re you’re really ancient, you identify with the owner. I’m somewhere between the coach and the owner.
Like eunuchs in a harem, fans have a limited stadium perspective of the Carolina Panthers, one that is only slightly enhanced by daily sports journalists, but fans for the most part are really left far afield and impotent of action within the inner sanctum.
This is as it should be.
Lousy or brilliant, the Carolina Panthers entertain: we reap out-of-body highs and lows on Sunday afternoons; we ponder ceaselessly the future from Monday to Saturday, and we savor whatever information leaks from within, the knee-jerk, black-hearted reaction of bloggers, a true curse to electronic media, being the exception.
We are all entitled to our own opinion, according to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, but not to our own facts. Here’s mine: John Fox is transcendently wonderful. He will be sorely missed in the Carolinas, but his pugnacious, good-natured, user-friendly coaching is eternal. Glory be to John Fox.
Curtis Smith in Dallas, Texas.
Thanks coach Fox. got to talk to you a few times at quail hollow. You are 100% class and i wish you nothing but luck. I want to thank you for all the work you put in and will never forget all the good times you gave us after taking over a very bad team who really never spends money to get you the help you needed. The ending wasn't all on you!
Not sure we're gonna find a better HC than Fox. PLus as strong as the NFC South is - I have a dreadful feeling the Panthers will be in the basement for awhile.
P.S> - all of this "should I stay or should I go" crap from Andrew Luck is an indirect way of telling Carolina he doesn't want to play here..
I will say for all of the years that I have watched Panther football I have enjoyed these last 9 years with you as our head coach. I have yelled and screamed at the tv, I have bought jerseys , but nothing will compare to the time and effort that you put into this team! So with all of that said THANK YOU for everything that you brought to this team!
Duh !! Luck is only a sophomore.
Way too much pressure for any QB to come and they know it.
QBs or Head Coaches dont want the pressure and headaches since they are only ones who get blamed by fans and the yocal media as everyone else is innocent.
As a 4 seat PSL owner since the first day in section 123, thank you Coach Fox for being a very good man and coach. Anyone criticizing you here, it's their right, but they don't truly know how football works. You did your job with honor and fairness to your players, and I doubt any coach would have done better. You will always be remembered by real fans as a coach who never lost his team and that Super Bowl run was so special. I know you will be succesful in your next coaching job if you continue to choose coaching. If you choose not to coach, I hope you and your family will choose to remain residents in Charlotte. Thanks for the memories. Good Luck, God Bless, and Happy New Year to the Fox family. GO PANTHERS.
Thanks Coach. You always represented with character and professionalism. I wish you success in your next endeavor.
Thanks Coach Fox
Great memories, great attitude, always professional.
Good Luck in all your future endeavors!!
Thank you Coach Fox. I wish you well in the future! It's hard to win games when your toolbox is missing most of the tools. I have felt bad for you the last couple of years here in Carolina. The idiotic critical fans here in Carolina don't know what they had in you. Your character and professionalism will always be appreciated and admired.
The year the Panthers went to the Super Bowl was one of the most exciting years of watching football in my life!
Good luck to you and your family! Always feel at home in Carolina!
Alan
"Anonymous said...
Much respect for this coach, greedy owner wanting to get the best of out of substandard players.Need somebody to blame.
January 1, 2011 12:47 PM"
These are the kind of classless STUPID IGNORANT worthlezz jerkz Fox and Richardson & mgmt have to deal with. They need bitchslapped everytime they open their idiot mouths. They are unworthy of an NFL team. Sub-standard players? Can you do better?
Thank you coach Fox. You've done you job with class and dedication. And going to the SB wasn't bad either. Good luck in your future job. You will be missed
John,
Thanks for everything that you did for the team, and for Charlotte over the past 9 years. You have been a great example of our city and our team. I wish you the best of luck in your future. You have a lot of well wishers in Charlotte. Keep Pounding!
Take care,
Melissa
Is it just me, or are there other Panther fans out there that think Marty Hurney should be the next guy to be fired. He's the one who's been in charge of buying all of the groceries for these meals.
Why is it that Marty Hurney never wants to disclose the information about his contract extension? We all know how much John Fox was making per year why not tell us what Marty Hurney makes per year? Just curious.
The Panthers will have their work cut out for finding a better coach than John Fox! With all the injuries and the cost reductions/rebuilding of the roster, the likely 2 and
14 is not a reflection on a regular playoff, and I think Super Bowl capable coach.
Jake helped get you to the Superbowl and he also cost you your job.
Thank you Coach Fox for the best run in Panthers' history. I'm sorry for all the classless people who took this opportunity to make uninformed and foolish insults, but you already know they aren't competing against you as NFL head coaching talent. They also have forgotten what you inherited and how many exciting seasons you and your players gave to us. All my best for continued success in your head coaching career. You have been great for the team, the city and the State of North Carolina. You are a class act. I know we will see you in a Super Bowl soon, and just hope it is with an AFC team. Go get 'em Coach!
The first seven years were great!!Thank you Coach Fox!Don't listen to the negative blogs by some of these couch potato losers!There angry about a 2 win season wait'll till the next 2 seasons with zero wins for the Panthers!Just being real!!
Thank you Coach Fox. Some of my very best memories not just from football, but in my life, came while watching the Panthers during your tenure. Good luck.
inThanks you, John Fox you are a special man with special talents we wish you the best life has to offer you and your family. Keep smiling and keep making it happen!!!!
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