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We've speculated in this space before that Carolina Panthers head coach John Fox will keep his job if he wins seven games. That, however, was before he got the dreaded vote of confidence from team owner Jerry Richardson, who reportedly told Cris Collinsworth that Fox would be back regardless of the Panthers' final record.

The question now is this: does that vote of confidence still register if the Panthers lose at Tampa Bay on Sunday? Or is Fox still under pressure to finish at least 7-9?

If he is, he's going to get a big boost from the Buccaneers. They're already locked into the #4 seed in the NFC playoffs, and Jon Gruden is planning on resting his starters this Sunday. In fact, this is the same scenario the Panthers were in last New Year's Eve, when they went to New Orleans and won. The Saints were locked into the #2 seed, and Sean Payton pulled the starters after one series.

By the way, Fox and Gruden apparently have the same agent, a guy named Bob LaMonte. I wouldn't be shocked if LaMonte placed a phone call to Gruden about this topic -- not that he needed to convince Gruden to rest his starters. Maurice Stovall's arm injury already did that. By the end of Sunday, Fox may benefit the most from that injury.