Just under radar, three coaches have excelled

It won't be long before we start counting votes for this year's coach of the year, and it's no secret who will be at or near the top. San Diego's Marty Schottenheimer. Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher. Atlanta's Jim Mora. New England's Bill Belichick. Philadelphia's Andy Reid.

John Fox has proven to be super again for the Panthers. (AP)

But my interest is not with the coaches who make it. Mine is with the coaches who don't, guys who deserve to be considered but won't be largely because their records don't allow it.

Well, they do here. Introducing three more coaches who absolutely, positively won't be among the finalists for coach of the year but have the credentials to be considered. One has a losing record. Another has been on the job six weeks. The third is this close to pulling off one of the great U-turns in NFL history.

They should be recognized for their achievements, and they will. Now.

1. John Fox, Carolina: His losses started early, and they never stopped. Wide receiver Steve Smith. Running back Stephen Davis. Running back DeShaun Foster. Special teams standout Rod Smart. All-pro defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. Oh, yeah, Fox also lost ballgames. Lots of ballgames. Try seven of the first eight in one of the worst starts for a defending NFC champion.

But then something happened with the Panthers trailing 17-3 at halftime in their Nov. 14 game with San Francisco. They gained a pulse. Suddenly and inexplicably the club revived, picked itself off the floor and rallied to hammer the 49ers. The next week they shredded Arizona, and the run was on. One by one Carolina began holding off opponents, largely by forcing a spate of turnovers that pushed the club to the top of the takeaway/giveaway charts.

But that's not the only area where they made progress. Look at the standings. The Panthers are within a victory of becoming the first team to start 1-7 and reach the playoffs -- and credit Fox.

"He has this philosophy," said offensive coordinator Dan Henning. "It's not how you start; it's how you finish. And players seem to have bought into it. Around here we just go one day at a time."

The results speak for themselves. In his first season, Fox lost eight straight and weathered a string of off-the-field distractions to finish 7-9. Then in 2003 he suffered three straight losses after jumping to an 8-2 start and steadied his club in time for the playoffs -- with the Panthers winning their last six before Super Bowl XXXVIII. Now this. All I know is that if I'm making a stretch run, I want John Fox at my side. He's 10-3 in December.

"It's all about intangibles that are difficult to verbalize," said Henning.

2. Mike Mularkey, Buffalo: You don't want to start your career as an NFL head coach by losing your first four games, but San Diego's Bobby Ross did it in 1992 and wound up in the playoffs. And if it can work for Ross, why not Mike Mularkey? His team scored 51 points in its first four starts, all of them losses, then abruptly reversed itself when running back Willis McGahee joined the starting lineup.

I'm not saying McGahee was the difference; but the Bills started doing things they hadn't -- like winning -- and a season that seemed lost started improving fast. They beat Miami. They beat the Jets. They beat St. Louis. Seattle. Cincinnati. Heck, they won nine of 11 and Mularkey is within one win of pulling a Bobby Ross.

The Bills can reach the playoffs by beating Pittsburgh on Sunday, and while I can't explain what happened, I can point to Mularkey holding fast. He never wavered, especially when critics were dissecting a disappointing offense -- Mularkey's area of expertise. And let's go to the scoreboard: Over the last six games, all wins, Buffalo has averaged 38 points, never scoring fewer than 33, and drilled opponents by an average of 23 a game.