Chicago Bears hire John Fox as coach

Author:
Chris Burke
Publish date:
Jan 16, 2015

The Chicago Bears attempted to think outside the box in 2013 by hiring ex-NFL offensive coordinator and CFL head coach Marc Trestman. Their reward for that roll of the dice was a 13-19 record over two seasons.

New GM Ryan Pace will attempt to clean up the mess with a much more well-known commodity: John Fox, who recently was ousted from the head coaching position in Denver. Fox, 59, carries 119 career regular-season wins, six playoff appearances and two playoff trips on his resume, spanning head-coaching stops in Carolina and Denver.

He now will team up with Pace, the league's youngest general manager, in an attempt to revive the Bears.

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Grade: A-minus

Stability -- Above all, that's what the Bears needed to find this offseason after their 2014 campaign spiraled into utter humiliation. They lost to the Patriots and Packers in Weeks 8 and 10, respectively, by a combined count of 106-37; they dropped their final five games; and, perhaps worst of all, the Bears sputtered to dead last in the NFC North at 5-11.

Upon taking over, the first task for Pace was to find a coach capable of bringing the franchise back to center.

"The first order of business is to hire the right head coach to lead us to championships," Pace said earlier this month. "I can assure you I understand the importance of decision."

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Fox ought to fit the bill. Few current NFL head coaches have been around as long as Fox, who started his NFL career as a defensive assistant in 1989, then later served as defensive coordinator for the Raiders ('94-'95) and Giants ('97-2001). He then took over as head coach in Carolina back in 2002, and in his second season there, the Panthers advanced all the way to the Super Bowl before losing to New England. This season, his third year with the Broncos, ended in similar disappointment but, well, he's been where the Bears would like to go.

The Bears will value his defensive background, bringing Bears back closer to their longstanding identity as a team built on defense, even if the message of another defense-first head coach, Lovie Smith, grew stale toward the end of his nine-year Chicago tenure. The "Monsters of the Midway" moniker could not have felt further from reality over the past two seasons, as Chicago finished 30th and then 31st in points allowed. While Trestman ultimately deserved his fate, much of the blame for his regime imploding fell to defensive coordinator Mel Tucker -- it was almost incomprehensible that Tucker survived the entire 2014 season before being removed from his post.

Now, the biggest question is if Fox can drum up enough offense to avoid the pitfalls that doomed Smith's tenure? File that question away under TBD.

The Broncos led the league in points and yards under Fox in 2013 and were a top-five offense in several major categories over the past three seasons. However, Peyton Manning has to draw most of the praise there, given that the Broncos had minimal firepower in '11, one year prior to his arrival.

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Of course, Fox also pushed that flawed 2011 Broncos squad into the postseason, albeit at 8-8. The postseason run was made famous by Tim Tebow's lone stretch of NFL glory; Denver posted a 7-4 record in games in which Tebow started, with a wild-card round victory over Pittsburgh providing the icing on the cake.

Fox and his staff also milked some standout performances, plus the aforementioned Super Bowl, from a Carolina offense quarterbacked by Jake Delhomme. The run game was the star of the show, though, during most of Fox's time with the Panthers which, again, will be music to the ears of the old-school Bears franchise.

Given his experience in the league, Fox will be able to help Pace navigate some critical personnel decisions. Chicago holds a top-10 pick in this year's draft, but before that decisions must be made on several notable free agents (Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman).

There also is that little matter of Jay Cutler's future. Trading him in the coming months will be difficult, but will the Bears try?

Pace has a long road to travel en route back to postseason contention. He covered a lot of ground by nabbing Fox.

GALLERY: Coaches who went directly from one top job to another

NFL Coaches: One Job To Another

Chip Kelly | From Eagles to 49ers

Fired by the Philadelphia Eagles before their final game of the 2015 season, Chip Kelly landed on his feet less than a month later when he was hired by the San Francisco 49ers. He led Philadelphia to a 26–21 record in nearly three full years on the job, with one playoff appearance. Here are some other head coaches who went directly from one top job to another.

John Fox | From Broncos to Bears and from Panthers to Broncos

John Fox has pulled this one-job-to-the-next feat off twice. Barely a week after he and the Denver Broncos agreed to part ways in January 2015, the Chicago Bears made him their new head coach. Earlier in his career, Fox was let go by the Carolina Panthers and was quickly snapped up by the Broncos. He led both of those franchises to a Super Bowl. Can he do the same with the Bears?

Rex Ryan | From Jets to Bills

Rex Ryan was on the unemployment line for less than a month after getting canned by the New York Jets in December 2014. That's because the Buffalo Bills know talent when they see it, and swooped in to hire Ryan as their next head coach on Jan. 12, 2015.

Andy Reid | From Eagles to Chiefs

Almost all season long, Eagles fans had been calling for the organization to axe longtime head coach Andy Reid. On Dec. 31, 2012, after watching their team go 4-12, the Philadelphia fans got their wish, and Reid was fired. Four days later, the 54-year-old already had a new destination -- Kansas City.

Eric Mangini | From Jets to Browns

Mangini, one of the more prominent branches from Bill Belichick's coaching tree, started with a bang in 2006, leading the Jets to the playoffs. But after missing the postseason boat the following two seasons -- including a late-season collapse with Brett Favre at QB in 2008 -- Mangini was fired. Within weeks, he assumed the Browns' coaching reins and was also given the rare opportunity to hand-pick Cleveland's next general manager (George Kokinis). But a 5-11 season in 2009 changed everything. Kokinis was dropped for nebulous reasons, and then the Lerner family tapped Mike Holmgren to become the franchise czar, usurping any personnel powers that Mangini previously enjoyed. Mangini kept his coaching title in 2010, but another 5-11 campaign sealed his fate in Cleveland.

Herm Edwards | From Jets to Chiefs

Edwards led the Jets to three playoff appearances in his first four seasons as head coach (2001-04). But a woeful 4-12 campaign in 2005 became his undoing in New York. Still under contract with the Jets, Edwards was traded to the Chiefs for a 4th-round draft pick before the 2006 season. With Edwards in Kansas City, the Chiefs made a surprising 9-7 run and squeaked into the playoffs in the final week of the regular season, before bowing out to the eventual-champion Colts in the wild-card round. In his final two seasons, Edwards won only six games, before getting replaced by Todd Haley.

Steve Mariucci | From 49ers to Lions

Mariucci may have gotten a little too greedy after his sixth season in San Francisco (2002). Upon leading the 49ers to their fourth playoff berth in six years, Mariucci apparently sought a dual role as the club's director of football operations -- a request that didn't flatter GM Terry Donahue, who summarily fired Mariucci after San Francisco's blowout loss to Tampa Bay in the divisional playoff round. The Lions, in turn, were thrilled to land the Michigan native, handing Mariucci a five-year, $25 million deal -- the highest of any NFL coach at the time. Mariucci disappointed though, leading the Lions to only a 5-11 record in 2003. Two years later, Detroit fired Mariucci after a 4-7 start to the 2005 season (15-28 overall record).

Jon Gruden | From Raiders to Bucs

Gruden is the only coach in this gallery to win a Super Bowl in his first season with a new franchise. Before coming to Tampa Bay, Gruden led the Raiders to two division titles, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champs in the 2000 and '01 seasons. The sought-after coach went to the Buccaneers in a landmark deal -- with Tampa Bay forfeiting two first-round picks, two second-rounders and $8 million for Gruden's services. The Bucs' investment paid off with a Super Bowl victory in January 2003 -- against Gruden's old team, the Raiders.

Tony Dungy | From Bucs to Colts

Dungy revitalized the forlorn Bucs in the 1990s, especially on defense, leading the club to four playoff appearances in six seasons (1996-2001). Despite the turnaround, Tampa Bay dropped him for Jon Gruden before the 2002 season -- a move that would result in the franchise's first Super Bow victory. But Dungy wouldn't be unemployed for long, as the Colts hired him to reverse the fortunes of a team long on offensive talent (Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Edgerrin James) but short on defensive presence. The result: Dungy converted an also-ran into a 10-6 contender in 2002, while bringing stability to a franchise that would win its own Super Bowl in the 2006 season.

Marty Schottenheimer | From Redskins to Chargers

NFL fans may have forgotten that Schottenheimer coached the Redskins in 2001, only to be dropped by hands-on owner Daniel Snyder after one hot-and-cold 8-8 campaign. But the D.C. debacle paved the way for Schottenheimer to join the Chargers the following year, while getting the opportunity to lead Junior Seau, LaDainian Tomlinson and Drew Brees, among others, to AFC West titles in 2004 and 2006. In five seasons with San Diego, Schottenheimer posted a 47-33 record, but failed to win one playoff game.

Mike Holmgren | From Packers to Seahawks

Holmgren's tenure in Green Bay was one for the ages. From 1992 to '98, Holmgren ruled the Packers to a 75-37 record and two Super Bowl appearances, including one victory in 1996. However, he left the Packers after the 1998 season in favor of the Seahawks' blockbuster offer to be both GM and coach. His eight-year contract initially gave Holmgren absolute power over the franchise; and he repaid that confidence with a playoff berth in 1999, his first full season in Seattle. Six years later, after being stripped of his GM duties, Holmgren led the Seahawks to their one and only Super Bowl appearance.

Ray Rhodes | From Eagles to Packers

Rhodes, who directed the Eagles to two wild-card berths in 1995-96 before the club's regression in 1997-98, had the unfortunate task of following Mike Holmgren in Green Bay. In 1999, the Rhodes-led Packers finished a disappointing 8-8, prompting his dismissal after one season and ushering in the Mike Sherman era, where Green Bay captured four straight division titles from 2001 to '04. Unfortunately for Rhodes, the '99 season would be his last as an NFL head coach.

Bobby Ross | From Chargers to Lions

Chargers fans will remember Ross as the first coach to lead the franchise to a Super Bowl (1994) and the one who deserted sunny San Diego for Detroit, after the 1996 season. As for Lions fans, they'll identify Ross as the leader of two playoff teams (1997, 1999) and Detroit's last permanent head coach ... before Matt Millen assumed control of the club in January 2001.

Bill Parcells | From Patriots to Jets

Parcells was furious with Patriots owner Robert Kraft after he overruled him in the 1996 draft (apparently over wide receiver Terry Glenn). This prompted Parcells' classic response of, "If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries." The Big Tuna was livid enough to leave New England -- on the heels of a Super Bowl season -- for the rival Jets in 1997. After a near-miss for the postseason in '97, the Parcells-led Jets won the AFC East in 1998 and almost knocked off the eventual-champion Broncos in the AFC title game.

Dan Reeves | From Giants to Falcons

Reeves rekindled his old Denver magic in Atlanta. Following a mediocre 7-9 mark in 1997, Reeves captained the Falcons to their greatest season in franchise history -- a 14-2 record, an NFC West title, a shocking victory over the heavily favored Vikings in the '98 NFC title game, and a berth in Super Bowl XXXIII, ultimately losing to John Elway's Broncos. But that loss could hardly dull the brilliance of Reeves' work in that dream season, especially since he underwent heart surgery midway through the campaign. Reeves would coach Atlanta for five more seasons before retiring to the lucrative world of franchise consulting and NFL broadcasting.

Rich Kotite | From Eagles to Jets

Kotite got burned by the notion of speaking too soon. In 1992-93, he led the Eagles to consecutive double-digit-win seasons and then started '94 with a 7-2 record. It was then that Kotite revealed he'd be exploring his coaching options at the end of the season ... which perilously ended with seven straight defeats. Owner Jeffrey Lurie dismissed Kotite soon thereafter, enabling him to take over the porous Jets. Much to owner Leon Hess's chagrin, Kotite helmed the Jets to four total victories in 1995-96 -- his only two seasons in the Big Apple. The good news from this disaster: The Jets hired Bill Parcells in 1997, who eventually made winners out of Keyshawn Johnson, Wayne Chrebet and Vinny Testaverde.

Dan Reeves | From Broncos to Giants

An alleged dispute with franchise QB John Elway contributed to Reeves' exile from Denver after the 1992 season -- despite six playoff berths, five division titles and three Super Bowls appearances in 12 seasons (1981-92). Reeves seamlessly restored the Giants' pluck in 1993, leading a veteran team to a 11-5 record and collecting Coach of the Year honors. The good times in New York, though, were short-lived for Reeves, whose Giants won only 20 games from 1994 to '96.

Chuck Knox | From Rams to Bills; from Bills to Seahawks; from Seahawks to Rams

Knox's first tour-of-duty with the Los Angeles Rams (1973-77) was comprised of five NFC West titles in five seasons. Fast forward to 1992, as Knox could only squeeze a 6-10 record from the hollowed-out Rams, with diminishing returns in the following two seasons. In Knox's final NFL coaching stop, he learned that even coaching legends can't go home again.

Sam Wyche | From Bengals to Bucs

In eight seasons with Cincinnati (1984-91), Wyche had one of the game's best young quarterbacks (Boomer Esiason) and a Hall of Fame left tackle (Anthony Munoz) anchoring a talent nucleus that was only seconds away from a world championship in 1988. But with Tampa Bay from 1992-95, the fiery Wyche had to endure a club that was bereft of talent and easily the weakest link of the highly competitive NFC Central. The best example of the Bucs' ineptitude: Wyche's three starting quarterbacks during his Tampa Bay tenure were Vinny Testaverde, Craig Erickson and Trent Dilfer.

Jerry Glanville | From Oilers to Falcons

The abrasive, yet colorful Glanville got his first turn in the spotlight after being promoted from Oilers defensive coordinator to full-time head coach in 1986. He led Houston to three straight wild-card berths from 1987 to '89, but his inability to push the team past the first round prompted his eventual dismissal. With the Falcons (1990-93), Glanville endured three losing seasons, but he did claim one NFC West title in 1991. In that season, the Elvis Presley-loving Glanville had the opportunity to coach -- but not necessarily play -- another icon, rookie Brett Favre. In 1992, Glanville supported Favre being traded to Green Bay for a first-round pick -- a move that was widely trumpeted as a steal for the Falcons ... that is, until Favre took the world by storm that September (and for the next 19 seasons).