Richardson: Fox and Hurney Will Be Back

Filed under: Panthers, NFC South, Charlotte, Carolina

When I haven’t yelling at the Carolina Panthers to blitz someone (for a change!) tonight, I managed to catch a few things Cris Collinsworth said about his talk with Panthers owner Jerry Richardson. I had to rewind it a few times to be sure, but it sure sounded like he said head coach John Fox and GM Marty Hurney would absolutely be back next season, regardless of the team’s final record.

Essentially, Richardson said that Fox and Hurney get a pass because of injuries to Jake Delhomme and Brett Basanez, which created so much uncertainty at quarterback. I can’t see how this absolves Hurney, given that Hurney signed David Carr, who has been horrible, and stood pat with Travelle Wharton at left tackle, despite the fact that Wharton was coming off knee surgery and wasn’t able to block John Abraham — the rest Delhomme got hurt in the first place.

Hurney has made a few good moves, like drafting Jon Beason and trading a fifth-round pick for Chris Harris, but the David Carr signing has been an unmitigated disaster. Perhaps Richardson will give Hurney a pass for that, but that should be the last one. If Fox and Hurney do return in 2008, they’ll really need to win then.

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