Chris Harris Speaks On the Panthers and Coach Fox

[ladypanther]

I've called him a dumbass in the heat of the moment, but I think when not on a Sunday that we just played a game, I'd say he's an average to good coach. He's a great motivator and most players love him. It just may be possible that he wore out his welcome here regardless.

But, I definitely agree, I don't think this season had much to do with him at all and it actually makes me feel bad for him.

EDIT: And he does have his flaws, but I think I will miss him once he's gone for some reason.

He is a good coach, with some very good qualities. But he does not have "It." He is not great, and he is not good enough.

lol me too man... I also found it interesting that he said Fox has nothing to do with the offensive play calling... I operated under the assumption that he was dictating what was called to Davidson.

He did pick Davidson.

It is also interesting that Henning looked better in his next OC job and that the complaints we have about the 2 OC's have been the same. Until this year of course....and everything is worse.

[Cyberjag]

Fox is responsible for the run oriented play action attack. He tells his OC what he wants run. He also prepares for the game with them--the wildcat with Williams was his idea in fact. Last year he was the one who told Davidson to stop throwing the ball so much. But in the game, they call the plays.

We're predictable under Fox because conservative offenses are always predictable to an extent. But with Davidson calling plays, that's gotten ridiculous at this point.

[Proudiddy]

He is a good coach, with some very good qualities. But he does not have "It." He is not great, and he is not good enough.

He did pick Davidson.

It is also interesting that Henning looked better in his next OC job and that the complaints we have about the 2 OC's have been the same. Until this year of course....and everything is worse.

Yeah, the deal with Henning is why I always believed Fox was the one calling the shots and Davidson/Henning were just figureheads.

[mav1234]

you know, there is the possibility that harris doesn't know the amount of control Fox has over the playcalling. It may not be obvious what impact he has to defensive players...

[Montsta]

Of coarse in the months leading up to football season Fox has to tow the company line and say he likes the team he has, but no coach in his right mind would willingly play as many rookies and inexperienced guys as Fox has had to this year. I feel bad for him in spite of all his faults as a coach.

Imagine you are given a project at work and your boss gives you nothing but a bunch of kids fresh out of college to get it done with. Could you possibly create the next Facebook?Yes, it's possible. But more than likely you'll end up with WebVan.

[ladypanther]

Of coarse in the months leading up to football season Fox has to tow the company line and say he likes the team he has, but no coach in his right mind would willingly play as many rookies and inexperienced guys as Fox has had to this year. I feel bad for him in spite of all his faults as a coach.

Imagine you are given a project at work and your boss gives you nothing but a bunch of kids fresh out of college to get it done with. Could you possibly create the next Facebook?Yes, it's possible. But more than likely you'll end up with WebVan.

I think JR is just cleaning up the mess he let Foxy has created over the years. He also prolly thought Foxy was a better coach than this, and could coach up some wins.

[dimbee]

LOL I get the feeling ladypanther isn't too high on Foxy these days

[Davis83]

Correct that the coach is not playing the game and shouldn't be blamed for players failures

HOWEVER

It is the coach's responsibility to hire competent position coaches to "teach" players and to get the most out of them.

It is the coach's responsibility to hire competent coordinators that can game plan and make adjustments to keep up with the flow of the game.

It is the coach's responsibility to recognize his own limitations - ie... I am a defensive coach, therefore I need a strong OC to run that part of the game for me.... and I need one strong enough that I can trust his decisions with little input from me.

As I see it, Fox has failed at those 3 responsibilities:

We have not been able to evaluate and develope any kind of WR for past several years. We have not developed a "future of the team" QB in several years. This is his failure because he hired the coaches that are responsible for making that happen.

He gets a 50/50 in coordinators - the defense seems to play pretty good - - but the offense sucks now and has been on a downhill glide for a while. He hired the OC, so its his responsibility

He hired the OC and he is a defensive coach. Catch 22 - if you trust Davidson and he is calling the shots, then you failed on item 2 (hire competent coordinators)

If FOX is calling the shots on the offense, then he fails on part 3 (hire strong coordinator that I can trust to make calls).

Bottom line = Fox failed to hire a decent coaching staff = Fox failed.

[frash.exe]

One more time hurney and Richardson have provided fox with people that fit his system year in and year out and the results haven't been good enough

[ladypanther]

LOL I get the feeling ladypanther isn't too high on Foxy these days

LOL....have not been for years. Too bad the board crashed. Could provide evidence that "I told you so." Got creamed some for it. I think I was the first to say that Foxy plays not to lose and that the Panthers were under-coached. They still are but this year Foxy has no worries....he can blame the "personnel dept."

Hope JR finds that great hire next time.

[Kurb]

Our offense is horrible. It lost Moose/Vincent/Hoover/Delhomme. It also lost Otah which IMO is a MUCH bigger hurt.

Defense lost much more talent wise, and is generally the same/better.

The problem isn't in who the Panthers cut, it's in who they didn't bring in.

I like Harris a lot, but I supported breaking up the comfort level Fox was allowing with this team.

[God]

so i guess this means fox should receive a lifetime extension!

[Mr. Scot]

Honestly, this is the kind of thing you'll hear any player who's a stand-up guy say.

Doesn't necessarily mean he's right.

[CatMan72]

He's right, at the end of the day there's only so much a coach can do in terms of execution - but I have some real questions about playcalling, musical QB's, etc...

Even a great coach runs his course at a certain point, I've thought it was about time for a fresh start long before this season.