This fall John Fox will be keeping on wearing orange and blue. Of all the deals that rookie Chicago Bears GM Ryan Pace has made thus far, the one to acquire “Foxy” as he is affectionately known, is the best. When the Coaching carousel finished spinning, the Bears had a feeling of winning.
Don’t get used to that feeling this season, because it’s not going to happen much.
Jack Del Rio was a great hire in Oakland. The New York Jets may be on to something with Terry Bowles. His predecessor, Rex Ryan brings excitement to the Buffalo Bills. The Niners definitely underwhelmed when they went in-house by promoting Jim Tomsula.
How the Denver and Atlanta regime changes will work out is anyone’s best guess.
Not so with the Bears and John Fox; they have a proven commodity.
“Inside the industry he’s so respected,” said Jim Nantz, part of the NFL on CBS’ lead announcer team.
“Football people know that John knows what he’s doing. He’s very highly regarded, and if it wasn’t going to be Chicago, I’m sure it was going to be someone else.
“I’m sure they were lined up” Jim Nantz.
Fox has been labeled a “players coach,” and perhaps that’s been the secret to his success. If Marc Trestman was the “quarterback whisperer,” then John Fox is the “turnaround artist.”
We’ll see if the label sticks with this Bears Head Coach. Carolina was 1-15 when they hired Fox. He took them to the Super Bowl in his second season. Denver was 4-10 when hired Foxy. He won the AFC in his third season.
“His track record, he’s a likable guy,” said Pro Football Hall of Famer and CBS Color Analyst Dan Fouts.
“You don’t find many people who don’t like John Fox, so I think that goes a long way.”
It should go a long way towards improving team chemistry; something that was obviously lacking last season. There isn’t a while lot to get excited about with the Chicago Bears this upcoming season. The division cannot be easily described as “winable.” You know what a train wreck the defense is. Obviously, the quarterback has a consistent track record of inspiring manic-depression within the fan base.
Sure, there are some nice pieces here and there. Martellus Bennett, Alshon Jeffrey, Matt Forte- there’s plenty of talent. But with so many holes for Fox to fill all over the roster, you can see why the Bears are being given 50 or 60-1 odds of winning Super Bowl 50.
So what else does the Fox evaluator say?
NFL Today Studio Analyst Bart Scott:
“That division is hard to crack because they’ll have to fight for a Wild Card. I don’t think they’ll win the division, and within that division I believe Minnesota is going to be an improved team with a motivated Adrian Peterson.”
Scott then praised Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater before shifting back to the Bears: “I think Kevin White being injured has really set that offense back a little bit.”
Vaya con dios, John Fox. There is quite a difficult task ahead for you. This is looking like a three year project, at minimum. If the next couple of seasons are rough, as it appears they will be, I do hope the front office stays the course with Foxy.
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Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is part of the FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous talk radio stations all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 the Zone.
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