Two years ago, the Carolina Panthers hired Fox after a 1-15 season. Now, they're going to the Super Bowl. Not all the credit goes to their gum-popping, tough-guy coach. But a lot of it does. Enough anyway, to further the notion that the NFL remains a sports place where the man in charge really can be the man in charge.

Try saying that about any other league. NBA coaches are caretakers. They make nice to their players so they won't get fired. Baseball managers aren't quick-fixers. The game's economics prevent that. Jack McKeon is an exception; Dave Miley won't be.

NFL coaches are different. They work miracles. Did Bill Parcells come from retirement? Or Lourdes?

In the NFL, where there is a salary cap and the worst teams get the highest draft picks, it's all about getting the right coach. Mike Brown did; Dan Snyder didn't. The right coach can make every difference. Marvin Lewis left Steve Spurrier's staff in Washington - where Lewis was the league's highest-paid defensive coordinator - to become a better head coach than Spurrier.

Does anyone believe Dick LeBeau would have won eight times this year, even with the same players?

With Lewis, the Bengals set a standard of accountability and established the brickwork of a contender. With Spurrier, the Redskins won 11 games in two years.

It's simple and complex at the same time. Carolina interviewed Lewis and picked Fox. Mike Shanahan didn't get smart until he left Oakland for Denver. Because the talent is spread so evenly, motivation means more in the NFL than anywhere else. If you have a brilliant mind but can't move your players (Spurrier) you're looking for work.

This weekend's Final Four coaches had nothing in common but their ability to spot talent and get it to play hard and together. New England's Bill Belichick is nothing like Fox, who's nothing like Indy's Tony Dungy, who wouldn't be in the same poker game with Philly's Andy Reid.

Belichick attended Andover, President Bush's high school. Belichick scored a 1,400 on his SAT.

According to The New York Times, when Belichick coached the Cleveland Browns, he used "incremental analysis" to keep his team within the salary cap. Incremental analysis? What's his 40 time?

The dour Reid will have to hear it from Philly fans, now that the Eagles have developed a bridesmaid condition that's getting as bad as the Boston Red Sox. Philly lost its third consecutive NFC title game.

But that doesn't mean Reid - "as dry as a piece of beef jerky," said Eagles cornerback Troy Vincent - didn't command the full attention of his deficient and beaten-up team. In a city known for its spastic fans, Reid didn't go mental when the Eagles started 0-2 and Donovan McNabb looked like he'd never played quarterback. He got them back to the conference title game, even though they couldn't run or stop the run.

But now it's John Fox's star turn. He inherited that 1-15 Carolina team and immediately questioned its toughness. Sunday night, they spewed tough all over the home-standing Eagles.

There are lots of ways to win in the NFL, but only one way to be consistent about it: Find the right coach and let him do his job. Another reason to feel good about the Bengals in January.

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E-mail pdaugherty@enquirer.com

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