CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- George Seifert's tenure with the Carolina Panthers ended Monday in the same way he spent much of the season -- with his players in the dark and most not really caring.

		George Seifert is a good coach and a good guy, but the biggest reason for his dismissal was seen in the empty seats at Carolina's final home game Sunday. If you saw the stands, you could see there was nobody there. Naturally, owners don't like that because they're not getting the parking and concessions money they desire. The perfect choice now for the Panthers is Steve Spurrier. He's the guy who can fill those seats. He has great name recognition and a tremendous track record. He's enjoyed amazing success at Florida and also at Duke, so he's popular in the Carolinas. He's also an offensive-oriented coach, which sells tickets. Spurrier is exactly what the Panthers need. From injuries to poor play by the defense, nothing went right for Seifert this season. How much will this tarnish his reputation? He's still a Hall of Fame coach, but sometimes you're remembered for what you did last. The fans in Carolina will probably remember him for his record with the Panthers, but 49ers fans will remember him for his success in San Francisco. Hopefully that's how football fans in general will remember him. ESPN.com's Vinny Cerrato was director of player personnel for the Redskins and 49ers.

It was that lack of energy and desire that cost Seifert his job. He was fired Monday after three seasons capped by an NFL-record 15 straight losses in one season that owner Jerry Richardson said took all the passion out of the franchise.

"The energy has been sucked out of our organization and our fan base," Richardson said. "We've lost 15 in a row. ... We were 31st in the league in offense and 31st in defense. It couldn't continue. I had to make a change."

Richardson declined to speculate on a successor, although Steve Spurrier's name has been on almost everyone's lips since he stepped down at Florida on Friday.

Although the firing was expected, the players were the last to know.

Many said Seifert held his usual Monday morning meeting, never mentioning his fate and acting as if he would be back next season. But Seifert already knew his stint was done -- Richardson said discussions started between the two last Friday.

"That's how he is, secretive, a to-the-vest kind of guy who holds everything to himself," cornerback Jimmy Hitchcock said. "I don't think he was a players' coach."

Other players described Seifert as aloof, a characteristic fans also disliked, and pointed to his steely sideline demeanor. The parting shots by the players proved what most everyone already knew -- the Panthers had given up long before Sunday's 38-6 loss to the New England Patriots.

"If you have a coach who doesn't show any emotion, how are you going to show any?" defensive tackle Brentson Buckner said. "How are you going to fight for him when you don't even know if he has any fight in him?"

Seifert, 61, came to Carolina in 1999 after two years in retirement. He had the best winning percentage in league history, going 108-35 in eight years in San Francisco while winning two Super Bowls. The lead Richardson to believe he could spark a Panthers turnaround.

He never could, despite a variety of approaches. He brought his West Coast offense to Carolina the first season, when the Panthers went 8-8 and narrowly missed the playoffs.

Seifert thought they were Super Bowl contenders the next year and brought in a handful of former all-stars to get Carolina over the top.

But the imports -- defensive linemen Reggie White, Eric Swann, Chuck Smith and running back Natrone Means -- were all either past their prime or too injured to play again and Carolina went 7-9 -- the first losing season in Seifert's career.

	Slow Start
	George Seifert's three-year tenure with the Panthers was unsuccessful compared to his first three seasons with the 49ers. Seifert won at least 10 games in each of his first three years after replacing Bill Walsh in San Francisco, winning the Super bowl following the 1989 season, while he failed to win more than nine in any season in Carolina. His Niners teams also got into the playoffs in two of those seasons, while the Panthers best season under Seifert ended with a second-place finish in the NFC West in '99. Those 49ers teams clearly had more talent than the Panthers, though, sending nearly twice as many players to the Pro Bowl in Seifert's first three years. Here's a look at Seifert's regular-season records for those three-year periods.
		S.F 1989-91	CAR 1999-2001
	Record	34-10	16-32
	Win pct.	.766	.333
	Playoff app.	2*	0
	Pro Bowlers	14	8
	*Won Super Bowl XXVI in first season

So he tried a different approach this year, purging the team of many high-priced veterans in order to rebuild around developing young players. That went terribly awry as the Panthers won their opener in Minnesota then lost 15 straight, leaving Seifert 16-32 with the team.

"I had to make a number of decisions and in this business that's a requirement," Seifert said. "Some work, some don't and too many of them didn't."

The focus now turns to his successor. Richardson gave no timetable for naming a new coach. Nor was he sure if he would hire a general manager, which the team has done without since Bill Polian left almost five years ago.

"There are a number of ways we can go," Richardson said. "We aren't closing the door on anything."

But Richardson vowed to restore energy into the franchise, which Spurrier surely could do.

Author of one of the most prolific offenses in college football history, Spurrier already has history here. His parents grew up in Charlotte and relatives still live here. He spent three years coaching up the road at Duke and even talked briefly with Panthers officials when they were looking for their first head coach.

And of the few fans who showed up Sunday -- a franchise low 21,070 turned out and most were Patriots fans -- some carried signs clamoring for Spurrier before security confiscated them.

Whether it's Spurrier or someone else, Seifert said his successor will have one of the best jobs in the NFL.

"I have no regrets coming back into coaching. The support group here is as great as any place," he said. "This is a great job, and guys should be banging down the doors trying to get this job."

Not yet determined is the fate of personnel director Jack Bushofsky, who also is expected to be dismissed with two years remaining on his contract as well.

ESPN.com senior writer Len Pasquarelli contributed to this report.