Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It wasn’t long ago that John Fox was fresh off a trip to the NFC title game and a couple years removed from a Super Bowl appearance as he pushed to get buddy Sean Payton his first head-coaching job with the New Orleans Saints.
Now wearing a Super Bowl ring, Payton is a coaching star. Fox’s fortunes, meanwhile, have plummeted. Denied a contract extension, his Carolina Panthers are among the worst teams in the NFL, and all signs point to this being Fox’s last year with the team.