Should the Panthers Fox Be Called 'Teflon' John

Brad Thomas with Scout.com has a nice post about why John Fox has not met the same fate as his two predecessors.  I’ll cut straight to the chase and come back to the history lesson. His theory is that Fox has not made any critical mistakes like those of Dom Capers and George Seifert.

The fact that many people are missing is that Fox hasn't done anything to give Richardson a reason to fire him, unlike Capers and Seifert before him.

 Let’s visit Thomas points about the two previous coaches.

 Dom Capers

 1998 was the year it went sour. Kerry Collins suffered a near nervous breakdown, which ultimately led to the team releasing its franchise QB early in the season. During the offseason, Capers gave up two first-round draft picks to sign Redskins defensive end Sean Gilbert -- a move which started the dark period of the Carolina Panthers' short existence. In the draft, Capers selected defensive end Jason Peter in the first round. Peter never realized his potential due to injury and drug dependencies. 1998 was also the year where Kevin Greene, the standout linebacker, snapped and attacked assistant coach Kevin Steele on the sidelines. Greene received a game suspension, but the tone it set and the way Capers handled it might have been THE moment when Richardson realized a change had to be made.

The panthers finished 4-12 in 1998 and the team had given up on Capers and his staff. 4-12 was the worst finish of the team's short life, and there was no sign of Capers being able to right the ship. Capers had lost the team and made tremendous blunders as a GM, and owner Jerry Richardson had to do something to set progress in motion

 I will never blame Capers for Kerry Collins immaturity but certainly the Sean Gilbert trade was and still is the worst move in franchise history. Capers did have it coming. By the way, I will have to put up a post soon on my wife’s Kerry Collins rant, she hates the guy

 George Seifert

 Seifert, however, was not an astute general manager and made several poor decisions. The decision to bring in a broken-down Chuck Smith under a high-dollar contract put the Panthers behind the 8-ball financially. Seifert also presided over some of the worst drafts in Carolina Panthers history. Seifert went 8-8 in his first season with the Panthers and 7-9 in his second, however, it would be perhaps the worst decision in Carolina Panthers football history that would send him to the unemployment line in 2001 and ultimately change his legacy from that as a sure-fire hall of famer to that of an inept and aloof head coach. Despite Steve Beuerlein being the team's leader in the locker room and on the field, and his coming off a year in which he threw for 3,730 yards, 19 TDs and 18 interceptions, Seifert decided to cut Beuerlein outright and put all his faith in his unproven understudy Jeff Lewis in 2001. Lewis didn't make it out of preseason due to his lack of knowledge of the playbook and his horrible decision making ability on the field. Seifert then turned to fourth-round pick Chris Weinke, who led the team to a 1-15 season -- the worst in the franchise's history.

 These are good points but didn’t Seifert also oversee the Panthers best draft ever in 2001? Of course 1-15 will get anyone fired.

 John Fox

 Thomas supposes that Fox came to Carolina with great street cred:

 Fox was recommended by Giants co-owner Wellington Mara -- one of the most influential icons in the history of the National Football League. People must keep in mind the mindset and professional outlook of Jerry Richardson. This is a guy who wants to model his team after the Pittsburgh Steers; a team that doesn't change head coaches every 3 years, and a team that is known for its toughness.

In John Fox, Richardson knows what he has: a great manager and motivator and a relatively low-maintenance tactician that never gives too much away.

 Surely good points but I don’t think John Fox is without his mistakes, they just don’t seem to be sticking to him, hence the ‘teflon’ moniker I’ve assigned in the title of this post.

 Fox and Hurney obviously missed most recently with signing David Carr. No need to argue that point I’m sure. I also think they cut Keyshawn Johnson a season too early. I’m sure some will argue he was a negative locker room influence but I thought he had mellowed some with age. He was already gearing up for his after-life as an announcer. I think we could have used him last season but I understand a lot of Panther fans despised him. One last point is I think the Panthers let some key free agents walk that the Panthers never adequately replaced until now: Will Witherspoon, Deon Grant and Moose (who’s now back).

 Maybe these are not as serious infractions as the ones made by Capers and Seifert. I’ll agree with that but I also don’t think Fox is above making those kinds of mistakes. If Jeff Otah should somehow end up a bust (I’m not predicting that) I bet that would do. Also, if the Panther remain injury free but miss the playoffs, lets say win only 6 games, that would probably do it. My point is that maybe Fox will never make a huge mistake like those of his predecessors but even little mistakes can add up. This is the NFL and even I guy with the resume of a George Seifert (prior to coming to Carolina) can quickly find himself out of the league.  The pressure to win is only getting stronger and once again expectations are high in Carolina.

 Ok, I promise more positive topics in the next few weeks.