John Fox Maintains Precarious Position

Jerry Richardson, the Carolina Panthers' owner, apologized this week to the fans most responsible for building the franchise, the permanent seat license owners. In the midst of a 1-11 season, he said in a letter that the Panthers would continue with a master plan of building with the draft, among other things.

John Fox, the coach, was the last to hear about it.

Asked what he thought about the letter Richardson sent to PSL owners, which were the owners' first public comments on the poor season, Fox said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Fox has not been kept up to date probably because he will not be the team's coach after Feb. 1. His contract runs out and he has not received a contract extension.

Fox has avoided any contentious discussions this season about ownership motives with his roster. The team cut loose veterans, thus cutting payroll. Richardson is considered one of the hard core owners when it comes to dealing with the players union, which contends the NFL owners want to lock out players as a bargaining tool.

There have been some subtle remarks from Fox about the makeup of the roster that some have translated into jabs at ownership. Fox, however, has been careful not to ridicule his roster and claim the Panthers are losing because they have bad players.

One thing should be certain. The coach probably wishes he had Jake Delhomme back as quarterback, warts and all. The team turned the offense over to Matt Moore and the Panthers struggled mightily on offense right from the start of the preseason.

Moore is lost for the season with a shoulder injury and rookie Jimmy Clausen has tried to give some order to the worst offense in the NFL. To make matters worse, top running back DeAngelo Williams is also out for the season.

The news keeps getting worse. Middle linebacker Jon Beason did not practice again Thursday because of a knee issue. The Panthers play the 10-2 Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

The letter from Richardson will likely not be the most prominent piece of paper at the stadium Sunday. This would be the time Panthers' fans start wearing bags over their heads.