HEAD COACH

AGE: 48

YEARS IN NFL: 15

YEARS WITH PANTHERS: 2

COLLEGE: SAN DIEGO STATE

John Fox arrived in Charlotte in 2002 to take charge of a team that had lost 15 straight games for a franchise stained by a range of off-field troubles.

Fox began by challenging the players. He said he did not question the Panthers' ability, but he did question their toughness.

"He changed the mentality," said Muhsin Muhammad, a receiver for the Panthers since 1996.

Fox told his players he would build an offense that runs the ball to win and a defense that dominates. The Panthers responded with a 7-9 record in 2002, the second-best improvement by an NFL team under a rookie coach since 1978. The defense rose from 31st to second in the league, the best turnaround since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. The Panthers ranked among the top five in 10 defensive categories, leading the league in rushing yards per attempt allowed and sacks per pass play. In fact, Carolina had 52 sacks last season, more than doubling its total from the previous year.

Fox proved his own toughness in the 1970s as a walk-on at San Diego State, where he and Herman Edwards, now the of the New York Jets, starred in the defensive backfield. Fox began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the Aztecs in 1978 and held 13 more jobs before arriving in Carolina to take his first head coaching position.

Along the way, Fox developed his philosophy of making players accountable for their performances.

Washington Redskins linebacker Jessie Armstead -- who played five seasons in New York under Fox, a defensive coordinator with the Giants from 1997 to 2001 -- remembers: "John came into our first meeting and told us, 'You think you're a good defense; you're not a good defense.' The players started looking at each other wondering, 'Who is this guy?' I thought, 'This guy here, he's going to last; he's tough.' He won us over. He turned us into a dominating defense in the league. John brings attitude to the table. He understands the game, and his players understand the game."