The Carolina Panthers dismal 2-12 season has been a disappointment to the team’s fans. How does a football team with a tradition of winning seasons get into a predicament like this one? Here are some possible answers:
Strip the club of much of its talent. Between the 2009 and 2010 seasons several players left the club. Notably, as a free agent, Julius Peppers and the Panthers could not agree on salary; Peppers went on to the Chicago Bears. Jake Delhomme, the team’s starting quarterback had inconsistent 2008 and 2009 seasons. He was cut from the team and picked up by the Cleveland Browns. Several other talented players also moved on to other teams.
John Fox, the Panthers’ head coach for nine years found himself in a position where is contracted was not renewed or extended. While neither the team’s management nor John Fox has provided an explanation for the decision, it is clear that Fox and the team’s management do not agree on many issues. It is also possible that Coach Fox and the team’s management recognized that like any manager working in a high stress environment like the NFL, Fox was beginning to burn out. Experienced managers know when it is time to reinvent themselves. For a NFL football coach with a winning history that means moving on to anther football team.
There has also been speculation that the team’s ownership let talented people go to cut expenses in anticipation of a possible players’ lockout if the owners-players contract talks scheduled for 2011 fail to produce an agreement that is acceptable to both sides.
The silver lining in this year’s season is the NFL draft. The Panthers’ 2010 season currently puts them into position for first pick in the draft. Most Panther watchers and fans expect the team to draft one of the hot quarterback prospects to fill this critical offensive position for the Panthers.