On Sunday, John Czarnecki of FOX reports that Panthers coach John Fox has told “friends and some associates” that he expects to be fired when the 2009 season ends.
After Sunday’s win over the Redskins, which moved Carolina to 1-3, Fox denied that he has said any such thing.
“I think if I was talking to my friends, I’d probably tell them if I was expecting a new five-year contract, but I don’t think I’d be telling them I’m getting fired at the end of the season,” Fox said. “I really don’t even know how to respond to that. It doesn’t make much sense if it did come out.”
Nice try, John. But it makes plenty of sense that, in quiet, reflective moments while commiserating with those you know (and thought you could trust), you’d acknowledge what many think is obvious -- that it’s coming to an end for you in Charlotte.
Fox quietly has been on the job for eight seasons. The fumes of an unlikely Super Bowl appearance in his second year with the Panthers likely has carried him through a few down years, and last season’s 12-4 finish seemed to cement his hold on the job.
But it’s now coming apart, and someone has to be accountable for the decision to extend the contract of quarterback Jake Delhomme despite plenty of evidence that he’s in decline and to keep defensive end Julius Peppers at $17 million for one season despite the fact that he didn’t want to be there -- and by all appearances is now playing that way.
So Fox, like any football coach, is too proud to concede that which he knows in his heart. The window has closed in Charlotte, and unless his team shatters it soon, Fox likely will be done after the season, regardless of whether he has shared his fears in this regard with his friends.