On closing day, the Carolina Panthers walked across ground so hard that they couldn't dig a decent hole, or completely dig out of one.
With patrons wrapped in wind-whipped scarves, some big issues seemed virtually certain long before the opening kickoff. Carolina, one year removed from 12-4, would miss the playoffs.
New Orleans, two weeks removed from perfection, would give quarterback Drew Brees the first of two weekends off before wobbling into the tournament as the NFC's No. 1 seed.
Carolina's Jonathan Stewart rambled 67 yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage, breaking the Saints' faint spirit. Stewart eventually joined injured teammate DeAngelo Williams in the NFL's first tandem of 1,100-yard rushers.
The Panthers rolled 23-10, their third straight victory. New Orleans lost its third straight, the worst stretch run ever by a top seed. Brees even made history while taking naps rather than snaps, nailing down the NFL's best single-season completion percentage (70.6).
Everything felt upside down. The crowd arrived late, as temperatures inched above freezing, and the pregame audience resembled one of those sad Washington Redskins throngs performing last rites in ancient black-and-white days. Oddly enough, the majority stayed later than usual, cheering quarterback Matt Moore and back-from-oblivion receiver Dwayne Jarrett as the Panthers put the finishing touches on 8-8.
That's a lot better than anyone expected after Jake Delhomme committed five turnovers in the Philadelphia opener or months later, after Delhomme broke a finger with 18 interceptions on the rap sheet.
The checkered recent past is prologue, but prologue to what? Most likely, a showdown between Coach John Fox and owner Jerry Richardson.
Fox has one year left on his contract. Midseason speculation about a firing evaporated as the Panthers won four of their last five games, compelling evidence that the players responded to coaching at the end of a lost season.
Richardson and his underlings chose to let the situation simmer, which takes them off the hook for guaranteed money if failed labor negotiations shut down the NFL in 2011. The strategy also exposes Fox to future blank paychecks if Carolina flops next season.
After the game, he sounded unwilling to dangle in the wind and accept just any Richardson game plan. An obvious option: Find another job and somehow extricate himself from the rest of his contract. That might become feasible, for instance, if Richardson knows he can hire someone and also get draft compensation from the next Fox employer.
When reporters asked Fox if he wants to return next season or if he would work with just one year on the contract, Fox did not say yes. "Like every off-season, there are evaluations and things you look at," he said. "I usually talk to my family and see where all of that goes."
Fullback Brad Hoover, a 10-year veteran from Ledford High, endorsed a return. "Most of the guys in this locker room want him here," Hoover said. "He's a real players' coach."
The cast will change some regardless. The Panthers don't own a first-round draft pick, but they must decide about defensive end Julius Peppers, a free agent. Will Carolina keep Moore, a restricted free agent, as the starter and Delhomme as backup? Will Carolina seek a replacement for No. 2 receiver Muhsin Muhammad, a free agent who wants to stay?
So many questions, beginning with reflective what-ifs about injuries and the defense's late development and the delayed quarterback switch.
"The tragic thing," Muhammad said, "is that we are coming together at the right time, but now the season is over with."
Perhaps, but consider the other side of the drama equation: The off-season has only just begun.
lrawlings@wsjournal.com
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