Failure was not option for Fox
Coach revived Panthers by not settling for complacency
Chuck Burton / AP fileJust two seasons ago, the Carolina Panthers went 1-15. Coach John Fox quickly turned them around.
ASK THE NFL EXPERT
By Don Pierson
NBCSports.com contributor
updated 5:13 p.m. ET Jan. 23, 2004
John Fox is the "other coach" of the "other team" in the Super Bowl. He's the one with the "other quarterback" and the "other defense." His Carolina Panthers aren't much better known than Fox.
He has been in Carolina only two years, taking over a 1-15 team from 2001, the same season the New England Patriots were winning a Super Bowl. Those are the same Patriots who had a second-year coach named Bill Belichick two years removed from finishing last in their own division.
If these Panthers are the Patriots of 2001, then Fox is the new Belichick. It's the kind of company he's glad to keep.
Fox is the latest nightmare for coaches everywhere. The quick turnaround is the order of the day in the NFL. Overnight success never is as easy as it appears and doesn't happen as often as it seems, but when teams such as the Panthers and coaches such as Fox climb from oblivion to the Super Bowl in 24 months, it grabs the attention of fans and owners and media everywhere.
Fox almost sounds apologetic.
"I am not sure anybody expected it to happen in two years, to happen that fast,'' Fox said. "But we've changed the attitude and taken the approach that the foundation and the cornerstones were enthusiasm and hard work.''
Fox and the Panthers are an example of how quickly things can change if absolutely everything goes right, like gambling on the signing of a free-agent quarterback with only two starts on his NFL resume of five years. If the Panthers were 75-1 longshots to make the Super Bowl after last year's 7-9 progress, then newcomer Jake Delhomme had to be 750-1.
There is nothing surprising, however, about Fox's determination and confidence as a coach. The timing might seem fast forward, but this is no accident. For a long time, Fox has known exactly where he is going.
When the Panthers came off their 1-15 season to win their first three games under Fox last season, they traveled to Green Bay and lost 17-14 in Lambeau Field. They missed a 24-yard field goal with 16 seconds to play. Fox could have declared a moral victory and sent his team home satisfied with a commendable 3-1 record. Instead, he made it clear in his first loss that losing was not acceptable, that he was disappointed, that he had brought his team to Lambeau to do more than sight-see.
It was the start of an eight-game losing streak, but Fox had established new standards. This was a franchise that had become complacent after shockingly getting to the NFC title game in its second season in existence, 1996. It had underachieved since, living off an inflated opinion of itself.
That same season of 1996, Fox had also shocked the NFL by quitting as defensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders two weeks before the season started. Reportedly fed up by the meddling of owner Al Davis, Fox told the Raiders they could take their job and shove it. Ordinarily, quitting is not in the vocabulary of any football coach, not even those with built-in excuses of laboring under a tyrant.
Fox had coached 18 years to get to his position with the Raiders, moving 12 times in the process since starting a grad assistant for alma mater San Diego State in 1978. To quit two weeks before the season was to risk professional suicide.
But Fox found a haven in St. Louis, where Mike Martz was an assistant under Rich Brooks and convinced the hierarchy to let Fox break down video and do some scouting while living with Martz. It kept Fox's foot in the business at a time when he might have opted for a career change.
The next season Jim Fassel hired Fox as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants. Fassel had worked as a quarterbacks coach for the Raiders and Davis while Fox was there, so he didn't need to sift through details of a divorce Fox has yet to clarify.
"I knew John Fox. That's all that mattered to me," Fassel said.
With the Giants, Fox's philosophy of pressure defense and a solid running game was honed so that there was no doubt about how his Panthers would be assembled. When he arrived without a viable running back, he brought in Lamar Smith. When he needed an upgrade, he signed Stephen Davis.
Like Belichick, Fox knows the kinds of players he needs to fit the kinds of things he wants to do. For players who don't understand or accept their roles, the door is always open, the exit door, that is.
In Carolina, they saw this coming before this breakthrough season and NFC South championship. Despite the 7-9 record of 2002, Fox got coach-of-the-year support and a ringing endorsement from Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden, who mentioned how good he thought the Panthers were.
"Coach of the year awards usually go to coaches of teams that made the playoffs, but I can't imagine there is anyone in the league who did a better job than John last season," general manager Marty Hurney said. "To start like we did, go through an eight-game losing streak, but keep the team believing like he did is a credit to John and his coaching staff."
The pattern of overcoming adversity has become familiar to Fox and his team and will continue throughout Super Bowl week. Last year's rookie of the year, defensive end Julius Peppers, was suspended for the end of the season for violating the substance abuse policy. Just before the season, linebacker Mark Fields and then linebacker coach Sam Mills were diagnosed with cancer.
To Fox's credit, he has again been able to keep his players focused. Beating St. Louis and Philadelphia on the road in the playoffs only gives the Panthers more practice for a familiar role in the Super Bowl: underdog.
Q: Does the Panthers' seemingly sudden success mean that it's harder or easier to win in the NFL these days? Looks like with no dynasties, it seems like anyone can win.
--Sean Miller, London
A: I think it's easier for more teams to win, but it's still hard to do. It does seem like anyone can win. But it still takes more than luck. A turnaround can happen faster since free agency has gutted the dynasties, but there are still formulas for success that remain tried and true. If you examine the final four teams in the playoffs, for example, only the Panthers could qualify as a so-called overnight success. The Eagles, Patriots and Colts have been knocking on the door for years, carefully building and plotting. Even though Colts' coach Tony Dungy was in only his second season in Indianapolis, as John Fox was in Carolina, he inherited a Super Bowl-ready offense in much the same way his successor in Tampa Bay, Jon Gruden, inherited a Super Bowl-ready defense. The Panthers turned around their 1-15 team so quickly because they were very fortunate to get some good young talent -- Julius Peppers, Jordan Gross -- interspersed with free agents Jake Delhomme and Stephen Davis, who blended with budding young players like Steve Smith and Kris Jenkins and Dan Morgan. All of them benefited by the coaching of Fox and his staff. It is an impressive accomplishment, but I still don't think it proves anybody can win. If the Arizona Cardinals are in the Super Bowl in two years now that Dennis Green has arrived, I'll definitely change my mind.
Q: Jake Delhomme was playing in NFL Europe before succeeding in the NFL. Are there any other players in the league now worth keeping an eye out for?
--Brad Mashburn, Houston
A:The leading passer in NFL Europe last season was Craig Nall. Ever hear of him? Brett Favre's third-string backup in Green Bay, of course. Nall could follow the same career path of Mark Brunell, Aaron Brooks, and Matt Hasselbeck: off Green Bay's bench to stardom elsewhere. But the Packers probably will try to hang onto Nall in anticipation of Favre's retirement in two or three years. They will have to pay him, however, because other teams will no doubt entice him with a contract offer when he becomes a free agent. A player named Phil Stambaugh was the second-leading passer. He hadn't signed with any NFLteam at last report. Shaun Hill, a Minnesota Vikings' quarterback, was the third-leading passer. Seth Burford of San Diego was fourth. With Delhomme following Brad Johnson and Kurt Warner, this is the fourth Super Bowl in five featuring a former NFL Europe quarterback.
Q: It seemed like Jim Fassel was the frontrunner for the Redskins, Cardinals and Bills jobs. With the hiring of Joe Gibbs in Washington, Dennis Green in Arizona and Mike Mularkey in Buffalo, what happened with Fassel? Will he land anywhere this year?
--Pat Stanziano, St. Catharines, Ont.
A: Fassel got a fast start on the interview list after forcing the Giants to tip their hand, but several teams took a closer look and decided to make him an also-ran. Despite an excellent December record, it didn't help Fassel that his latest edition of Giants quit on him about midseason and he never got them back. Landing this year will be a longshot. Look for him to return next season, perhaps as an offensive coordinator rather than a head coach. He needs to rebuild his reputation.
Q: Now that the Chargers have the No. 1 pick in the draft, will they keep it and draft Eli Manning or are they going to trade down for a receiver?
--Ryan Clifton, Folsom, Calif.
A: If they have any sense, they will take Manning. In 1998, they traded to get Ryan Leaf when Manning's brother Peyton was taken by Indianapolis. You still wonder whether the Chargers wouldn't have taken Leaf even if they had the No. 1 pick. This is their chance to right a wrong. It's not that taking a receiver would be the worst thing in the world, but they need somebody to throw the receiver the ball. Doug Flutie isn't the answer and it doesn't appear that Drew Brees is either. Both look more like backups than starters.
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