In anticipation that he will become the Carolina Panthers' new head coach, New York Giants defensive coordinator John Fox will travel to Charlotte on Thursday for his second meeting with team officials, sources confirmed Wednesday.
Team and league sources said that, barring unforeseen circumstances such as a hitch in contract negotiations, Fox will be named head coach by the end of the week.
Fox, 46, first interviewed for the job last week, and Panthers management was
clearly impressed with him. He became the favorite to succeed George Seifert
after Tony Dungy rejected an offer from the Panthers to become head coach of
the Indianapolis Colts instead.
Fox interviewed last year for the Buffalo Bills head coach job.
Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis met with Carolina
officials on Tuesday night and part of Wednesday. The sessions went well,
according to Lewis, but the team is still leaning strongly toward Fox;
the second interview is a clear signal he is the frontrunner.
The Panthers have spoken to coaches around the league about Fox and he has
received very solid recommendations from the group surveyed.
"Everyone we've talked to said that, when they play the Giants, his defense
is always difficult to prepare for," said one Panthers source. "And we
really liked his demeanor. The term that we keep hearing is that he really
'connects' well with his players. That's very important to us."
Fox began his professional coaching career with the Los Angeles Express of
the USFL in 1985. He had stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1989-91), San
Diego Chargers (1992-93), Los Angeles Raiders (1994-95) and St. Louis Rams
(1996), before joining the New York staff in 1997. He also coached at seven
colleges.
The Panthers fired Seifert the day following their season finale.
Len Pasquarelli is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.
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