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CHARLOTTE — And now comes the fun part.

A year that somehow ended up about where it began will now give way to a most interesting offseason. Carolina defeated New Orleans 23-10 Sunday, in part because the Saints had bigger things to worry about.

New Orleans will take a week off then host a playoff game. Carolina will take about four months off and consider the dismantling of a franchise. Or, as is the Panthers' style, do nothing at all.

The prevailing theory is that John Fox saved his job as Carolina went from a 4-7 disaster to an 8-8 team. But the prickly coach might be thinking about firing the Panthers.

Julius Peppers, the franchised defensive end who put the team through gut-wrenching negotiations a year ago, might have cemented his future with the organization after a late-season resurgence, but Carolina might have a surprise for him. The tables could turn. If money is no object, and an uncapped year of salaries would suggest just that, any team in the league can afford him at any price now.

The Panthers might be dealing after all. And those deals could involve anyone.

Jake Delhomme had to be among the most amazed observers over the last few weeks watching the emergence of Matt Moore, but the truth is Moore's performances have come against a series of teams that, for whatever reason, didn't seem to care a lot about playing the Panthers. He's also a restricted free agent.

Nothing was settled Sunday against the Saints, who came to Charlotte because they had to. And nothing was settled afterward as Fox deflected questions while hinting that he, not the team, will make the decision about his future.

"Like every offseason, there are evaluations and things you look at," he said. "I usually talk to my family and see where all that goes."

He has one year left on his contract, which reports say has not been extended. Fox got tired of being asked about it last week and snapped at reporters inquiring about his future. That's in part because there seems to be so little else to inquire about this team.

As has become their method of madness, the Panthers are basically set at every position except a few. That those positions happen to be quarterback and coach make this a perfect time to grill the coach. That he's so thin-skinned right now suggests he's in no mood or in no position to negotiate through beat writers.

Yet, without an extension, and with upcoming eventualities including labor talks, potential suspension of the salary cap, the recent firings of owner Jerry Richardson's sons and the hiring of a new team president, Fox might be in a position of power. He's among the league's most respected coaches. In the coming days, several NFL jobs could become available.

"I have a year left on my contract," he said. "I haven't had any postseason conversations yet. I have an agent that handles those things."

A lot of agents will be busy for the next few months. And while the league moves on to more important matters, like the playoffs, the Panthers will begin the slow process of evaluating players, most of whom are under contract, and coaches, all with one year left.

That's not how most NFL coaches operate, especially entire staffs, so while reports say Richardson wants to keep things as they, Fox and his assistants might not be as patient.

The realities of pro football have little to do with winning and losing. It's all about money and how much of it owners can rake in. The collective bargaining agreement between labor and management runs through an uncapped 2010 season. What will follow, short of talks that haven't even been discussed, is a lockout in 2011. That means owners have no money stream after what looms as a 2010 spending spree.

Such a scenario hardly seems to suggest an 8-8 team with most of its players and its coach locked up will be willing to do much in the offseason. You are what you are in the NFL, as Fox is wont to say. And the Panthers are in the unique position to remain 8-8 for a long, long time.

With or without Julius Peppers or Matt Moore or Jake Delhomme or, yes, even John Fox. Carolina is right back where it always seems to be, right in the middle of a maelstrom, willing to deal or be 8-8 for as long as it takes.

Contact Ed Hardin at 373-7069 or ed.hardin@news-record.com