John Fox is the Chicago Bears' 15th head coach in the franchise's history and has developed a reputation of taking team's that have losing records and bringing them to the brink of success. It all first started in Carolina. In 2001, the Carolina Panthers finished with the franchise's worst record of 1-15 and a 15-game losing streak. By next season, Fox was hired as the team's new head coach. In his first year as a head coach, he won his first game that season, which broke the 15-game losing streak, and ended with a record of 7-9. But it was the next season that would solidify his reputation.
In 2003, John Fox took the Carolina Panthers to their highest point as the team went on to finish the regular season 11-5 and win the division. In the playoffs, Fox was able to beat the Dallas Cowboys and the team's head coach Bill Parcells in the Wild Card Playoffs, 29-10, then went on to edge out the St. Louis Rams 29-23 in the NFC Division Playoffs, and finally were able to contain the Philadelphia Eagles and their quarterback Donovan McNabb to win the NFC Championship and earn a trip to their first (and only) Superbowl in the franchise's history. Unfortunately, Superbowl XXXVIII did not end well for John Fox and the Panthers as Tom Brady and the New England Patriots drove down the field to set up former kicker Adam Vinatieri for a game winner in order to win it 32-29.
John Fox would rise again and take Carolina back into the playoffs with 11-5 record in 2005 and reached the NFC Championship again, this time against the Seattle Seahawks. This time, the Panthers would find themselves defeated as the Seahawks won 34-14.
From 2002-2010 with the Carolina Panthers, John Fox had a 78-74 career record that included one Superbowl appearance (2003/lost), one NFC Championship(2003), two Division Championships (2003,2008), and three seasons with 10+ wins and playoff appearances (2003, 2005, 2008) . Despite having a decent career in Carolina, the Panthers' organization made the decision to not resign John Fox as the head coach after finishing the 2010 regular season at 2-14.
I didn't take Fox very long before he would be signed to a brand new team; enter the Denver Broncos. in January 2011, Fox was hired as the Denver Broncos new head coach. He was entering the same situation that he been dealt in Carolina as the Broncos had finished the 2010 regular season with a 4-12 record. Once again, Fox would bring the magic to the Broncos in order to help them turn it all around. In his first season in 2011 in Denver, Fox's Broncos started out shaky which lead them to have a 1-4 record in their first five games. In Week 7 game against the Miami Dolphins, Fox decided to make a change at quarterback with Tim Tebow in place of Kyle Orton to start. The change proved effective as Denver went on to win the game 18-15 in overtime. After, the Broncos went on to have a 7-4 record over their last 11 games of the season with a 6-game winning streak in the middle of it and a place in the playoffs. during the playoffs, Fox watched as his Broncos fight hard against the Pittsburgh Steelers and eventually win the game 29-23 in overtime thanks to an 80 yard touchdown pass from Tim Tebow to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. But the playoffs ended in the AFC Division Playoff game against the New England Patriots in which they dominated the game 45-10.
The next season, John Fox was given the chance to work with former Indianapolis Colts' quarterback Peyton Manning, after acquiring him in free agency after he was not resigned by the Colts. The next two years would be John Fox's finest as a head coach for the Broncos and in his head coaching career as he would coach Manning and the Broncos to back-to-back 13-3 regular season records with two Divisional Championships. After going 13-3 in the 2012 season, the Broncos faced off against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. The Broncos worked hard but could not win as the Ravens won 38-35 and would eventually go on to win the Superbowl. Fox and Broncos would not be beaten so easy the next time as the 2013 season was one for the books. Denver posted a 13-3 regular season record in which Peyton Manning set records for passing yards (5,477) and passing touchdowns (55) in a season. Despite having to have open heart surgery during the season, John Fox was there for the Broncos during the playoffs in which they won against the San Diego Chargers 24-17 in AFC Division Playoffs and then watched Manning beat his rival, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, in the AFC Championship 26-16 and earn a second trip to the Superbowl. In Superbowl XLVIII, Denver would face a tough Seattle Seahawks team that had the league's best defense, but many were certain Denver could make it happen. But Fox would not win it this time either as the tone was set from the very first snap of the game which flew by Peyton Manning's head for a safety. The Broncos would go on to lose 43-8, one of the franchise's worst Superbowl losses since Superbowl XXIV(Broncos lost to 49ers 55-10). John Fox proved himself again this past season by getting the Broncos to a 12-4 record in the regular season, only to lose against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts.
From 2011-2014 with the Denver Broncos, John Fox has had 49-22 career record that included one Superbowl appearance (2013/lost), one AFC Championship (2013), three Divisional Championships (2012, 2013, 2014), and three seasons with 10+ wins and playoff appearances (2012, 2013, 2014). Just a few days after the Broncos' loss in the 2015 playoffs, word was out that John Fox and the Denver Broncos had agreed to mutually part ways with one another.
So there is a brief look at the head coaching career that John Fox has had thus far. Now he comes to the Chicago Bears, whose finished the season with a [dreadfully disappointing] 5-11 record that consisted of inefficient offense and a pathetic shell of a defense. The hope is that John Fox will find a way to be able to turn things around on both sides of the ball, as well as finding the right personnel to surround himself with in a offensive coordinator. I would say defensive coordinator as well, but it looks as if former San Fransisco 49ers' defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will become the Bears' new DC which is a huge upgrade compared to last season where we had Mel Tucker.
During the press conference Monday, Fox was asked about his ability to turn teams around after they have had some bad seasons. Fox responded that his past shows that he has been able to help teams make "good jumps" and finished it with, "I can't predict exactly how fast or when that will happen. I just believe it will which certainly helps give some hope to the fans of Chicago and myself (Wright). As of right now, my expectations are low because it has yet to be seen what will happen in free agency, the draft, and who the offensive coordinator will be. But if they do get the right guys at the right positions, you may feel a smile coming right out of my next story.
Wright, Michael C. "Bears Introduce Coach John Fox." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 19 Jan. 2015. Web. 20 Jan. 2015
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| John Fox really proved his worth when he became the head coach of the Carolina Panthers back in 2002 |
John Fox would rise again and take Carolina back into the playoffs with 11-5 record in 2005 and reached the NFC Championship again, this time against the Seattle Seahawks. This time, the Panthers would find themselves defeated as the Seahawks won 34-14.
From 2002-2010 with the Carolina Panthers, John Fox had a 78-74 career record that included one Superbowl appearance (2003/lost), one NFC Championship(2003), two Division Championships (2003,2008), and three seasons with 10+ wins and playoff appearances (2003, 2005, 2008) . Despite having a decent career in Carolina, the Panthers' organization made the decision to not resign John Fox as the head coach after finishing the 2010 regular season at 2-14.
I didn't take Fox very long before he would be signed to a brand new team; enter the Denver Broncos. in January 2011, Fox was hired as the Denver Broncos new head coach. He was entering the same situation that he been dealt in Carolina as the Broncos had finished the 2010 regular season with a 4-12 record. Once again, Fox would bring the magic to the Broncos in order to help them turn it all around. In his first season in 2011 in Denver, Fox's Broncos started out shaky which lead them to have a 1-4 record in their first five games. In Week 7 game against the Miami Dolphins, Fox decided to make a change at quarterback with Tim Tebow in place of Kyle Orton to start. The change proved effective as Denver went on to win the game 18-15 in overtime. After, the Broncos went on to have a 7-4 record over their last 11 games of the season with a 6-game winning streak in the middle of it and a place in the playoffs. during the playoffs, Fox watched as his Broncos fight hard against the Pittsburgh Steelers and eventually win the game 29-23 in overtime thanks to an 80 yard touchdown pass from Tim Tebow to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. But the playoffs ended in the AFC Division Playoff game against the New England Patriots in which they dominated the game 45-10.
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| John Fox's time with the Denver Broncos was quite magical as he and Peyton Manning sent huge waves throughout the NFL in their domination |
From 2011-2014 with the Denver Broncos, John Fox has had 49-22 career record that included one Superbowl appearance (2013/lost), one AFC Championship (2013), three Divisional Championships (2012, 2013, 2014), and three seasons with 10+ wins and playoff appearances (2012, 2013, 2014). Just a few days after the Broncos' loss in the 2015 playoffs, word was out that John Fox and the Denver Broncos had agreed to mutually part ways with one another.
So there is a brief look at the head coaching career that John Fox has had thus far. Now he comes to the Chicago Bears, whose finished the season with a [dreadfully disappointing] 5-11 record that consisted of inefficient offense and a pathetic shell of a defense. The hope is that John Fox will find a way to be able to turn things around on both sides of the ball, as well as finding the right personnel to surround himself with in a offensive coordinator. I would say defensive coordinator as well, but it looks as if former San Fransisco 49ers' defensive coordinator Vic Fangio will become the Bears' new DC which is a huge upgrade compared to last season where we had Mel Tucker.
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| It'll take all of that classic John Fox magic to bring the Chicago Bears back to winning and making the playoffs |
Wright, Michael C. "Bears Introduce Coach John Fox." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 19 Jan. 2015. Web. 20 Jan. 2015
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