~~The official FIRE JOHN FOX AND MARTY HURNEY thread~~

[Sam Mills Fan]

I dislike the Cowboys too (most Falcons fans do b/c of the 1980 outcome)...but I listen to Charlotte sports radio sometime (especially close to the Falcons games) and I am always shocked at the Cowboys hate and discussion from people in the Carolinas. Why is that? Its like the Cowboys play in Wilmington or something based on the radio show.

and have a staff/coach that struggles to get over the 6 wins hump for a few years and you will beg to have Fox back for his 7-11 wins every year. Tampa Bay fired their coach that was doing a good job...hows that workin out for them?

Wait, what am I saying. Im a Falcons fan...YEAH, you need to FIRE FOX.

But I have to admit, while I like the players Carolina drafts usually, consistently trading a 1st for this years 2nd seems really dumb.

Gruden had lost the team like Fox has this year. And Gruden went 9-7 last season. We're not even going to sniff 9-7.

[cress]

Gruden had lost the team like Fox has this year. And Gruden went 9-7 last season. We're not even going to sniff 9-7.

0-2 and Fox has lost the team? Thats a laughable statement.

[MurkN]

The Falcons easily handled us yesterday. They beat us worse than that 8 point margin. We haven't even been competitive in a single game in calendar year 2009.

[Sam Mills Fan]

They're no longer responding to Fox's gameplan and speeches. He's grown stale and it's obvious that most players have stopped caring.

[jcwfalcon]

Regular season wins don't mean a damn thing. There's a reason people rag on the Cowboys all the time. It looks very likely that this will be the fourth straight season with no playoff win. If that happens, it will have been five years since our last playoff win assuming we were to win one after the 2010 regular season.

Gruden had lost the team like Fox has this year. And Gruden went 9-7 last season. We're not even going to sniff 9-7.

I dont think you will finish more than 2 wins from it.

And, IMO, Kemoeatu was you guys silent cog that made Beason and Davis look like they play on a Pro Bowl level...similar to how Merriman looked great as a rookie, but lost Jamaal Williams his big DT in year 2 and he struggled.

Kemo was probably almost as important to you guys defense as Abe is to the Falcons (well, maybe not quite that important).

Besides, its HARD for a coach to get over the back to back winning seasons hump. We have been trying for 40 years! Fox was due to go 7-9 this year, then get 10 next year.

Everybody thinks you get better when you fire somebody. But if you look at most of the consistent winners, they keep their same coaches around. As a Falcons fan I hope you do fire Fox. Even if you were able to hire Bill Cowher, Charlotte is going to be like a relaxing vacation back home for him. He probably wont stay more than 3-4 years, and retire again. Who knows how he would do? You will probably pray he gets as many wins as Fox did last year...PLEASE BILL...lets win 12 games and get a bye...PLEASE!

[Sam Mills Fan]

Since you're a Falcons fan, I realize that it's very easy for you to accept mediocrity. Lord knows that your franchise has been one of those joke franchises like the Lions and Saints and Bengals in the modern era of football. When you look at decades and decades of futility and worthless players and coaches like the Falcons have, you think that a coach that took you to a Super Bowl six years ago is one that should be kept for life.

Us Panthers fans haven't had the excitement of football beaten out of us yet like you all have. I know it's been a rough ride for your sad little team since they've been around, but we're not you. We should be better than the joke of a franchise that is the historic Atlanta Falcons. We can do better than John Fox.

[rayzor]

Cowher spent 13 years in Pissburgh before he got a Super Bowl ring. Next season his team poo the bed almost every game.

Give Fox some respect people. He has taken this franchise to a Super Bowl, a couple NFC championship appearances. And even when he has a losing season, he still competes w/ 7+ wins(except for his 1st year).

little comparison...

cowher 15 years as a coach.

11 years had a team that went 9-7 or better (73%)

10 seasons he took his team to the playoffs (67%)

3 seasons with sub .500 records (20%)

only had 3 years where a winning record wasn't followed with another winning record.

fox as a coach 7 years

3 years had a team that was 9-7 or better (42%)

3 seasons where he took his team to the playoffs

3 years with a sub .500 record. (something it took cowher 15 years to do).

never been able to follow a winning record with another winning record.

is cowher the best coach ever? no, but that's not my point.

is cowher THE answer? probably not but i don't know who would be.

is cowher a better answer? oh yeah.

is cowher a better coach than fox? good luck proving that isn't true.

cowher has proven himself to be a consistent winner. one of the big problems any coach would have coming in would be winning the team over. for cowher it would be an easier job than just about anyone. of all the former coaches that are or would be available, he would be the best one.

would cowher coming in guarantee success? no more than siefert was able to. still, it would be foolish to expect that if we can't pull together at least a winning season that we can expect to have a consistent winning team with fox in charge. imo, he has this year to secure himself some job security.

and to this who would say he would have a job quickly after he lost his job here i will point to you schottenheimer, shannahan, and gruden. all coaches with a lot of experience and winning records (for the most part, at least as much as fox) and who are unemployed. could count cowher in that category but we know why he isn't coaching and it isn't lack of opportunity.

i would also like to point you in the direction of tomlin, whisenhunt, cable, harbaugh, singletary, mike smith, sparano, zorn, caldwell, haley, mcdaniels, morris, ryan, schwartz, spagnuolo. what do these 15 coaches all have in common? 3 or less years experience as HC. this is the direction most teams are wanting to go.

fox's best chance to get another job if he can't turn this puppy around and win this year is to get a job as a defensive coordinator or something. considering his record with defenses lately that is going to be a tough sell.

i just want the panthers to be a winning team consistently. fox has this year to prove he can make that happen. if not, bye bye.

[MurkN]

[rayzor]

And, IMO, Kemoeatu was you guys silent cog that made Beason and Davis look like they play on a Pro Bowl level...

lol. not reading after that.

[OneBadassCat]

My main concern with Cowher is the 3-4 defense. We need to stick to 4-3, get a guy who will be more aggressive and maybe use some 3-4 hybrid formations. A full 3-4 conversion is too much, not needed, and would only slow down the defenses progress.

[Sam Mills Fan]

What defensive progress?

[OneBadassCat]

What defensive progress?

At this point they can only get better. If you change the scheme you are changing everything. Plus the only guys we know could be effective in it are Kemo, Peppers(who may not be here), and maybe E. Brown. All of our guys are 4-3 players. Lewis is getting too old to take on the role of a 3-4 DE, Leonard is better suited to 4-3, Irvin is a definite 4-3 DT and we don't even know about Sonny Harris. Beason could probably do it just because he's Jon Beason who knows about the rest of the LBs. Thomas Davis is finding his grove.

I'd rather us go for a cornerstone DT than change the entire defense. The 4-3 is fine we just have to get creative and more aggressive.

[cress]

They're no longer responding to Fox's gameplan and speeches. He's grown stale and it's obvious that most players have stopped caring.

What else are Carolina players thinking, since you obviously have the read on these players.

[jcwfalcon]

lol. not reading after that.

Laugh all you want but theres a reason you guys stacked 8 in the box much of the game to try to stop Turner and Matt Ryan was almost always able to find a receiver. Your DT's simply cant fill the gaps and open up the holes. Maybe if you guys still had Kemo, you would have had another guy in coverage/gotten a better blitz, gotten off the field on 3rd down, and given ol Jakey a chance to throw some more picks...

DT's are at a premium right now (see Haynesworth deal as evidence) and your stud DT went down.

Since you're a Falcons fan, I realize that it's very easy for you to accept mediocrity. Lord knows that your franchise has been one of those joke franchises like the Lions and Saints and Bengals in the modern era of football. When you look at decades and decades of futility and worthless players and coaches like the Falcons have, you think that a coach that took you to a Super Bowl six years ago is one that should be kept for life.

Us Panthers fans haven't had the excitement of football beaten out of us yet like you all have. I know it's been a rough ride for your sad little team since they've been around, but we're not you. We should be better than the joke of a franchise that is the historic Atlanta Falcons. We can do better than John Fox.

All very valid points. If my goal was Super Bowl rings instead of winning seasons I would have blown my brains out by now.

But I take solace in the fact the "joke of a franchise" Falcons have a been able to beat the mighty Panties 18 of the 29 times they have played. Its the little things that can keep a man happy. I will be in Row 1 at BOA in a couple of months trying to muster up some of the excitement that has long since been beaten out of me.

Keep demanding the Panties become the next Steelers/Patriots. I hope you are young, cause you will probably die unhappy if you arent.