The cries of mutiny have been bouncing around the hills of Carolina ever since John Fox named Brian St. Pierre starting quarterback on Thursday.
Fox eventually defended the decision, and now he’s getting some backup from Mike Trgovac, Fox’s former defensive coordinator who left the Panthers coach after the 2008 season.
“I guarantee you, the John Fox that I know would never do what they’re talking about right there,’’ Trgovac told Greg Bedard of the Boston Globe. (Trgovac is now Green Bay’s defensive line coach.) “Foxy has as much or more integrity than any coach I’ve ever been around.”
Right or wrong, Fox’s tendency to keep rookies on the bench and veterans in the lineup is well known. It’s just St. Pierre has no real experience himself. Fox’s previous comments expressing displeasure with his personnel department also makes it easier to question his motives.
Trgovac left Fox after the 2008 season, essentially for a step down on the coaching ladder. The two men had disagreements, but Trgovac said he’d work for Fox again in a second.
“That guy has a ton of integrity. And he genuinely cares,” Trgovac said. “He wouldn’t do that. No matter how pissed off he was, he wouldn’t do that to the players on his team. I can never believe that.’’
