Chicago Bears Could Help Defensive Rebound By Hiring John Fox

Jan 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos head coach John Fox on the sidelines during the second quarter against the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

True.  Hiring head coaches to accomplish short-term goals isn’t the most heady thinking in the world but if the Chicago Bears were looking for a key reason to bring in former Carolina and Denver head coach John Fox to run their team, then they should take note of his ability to identify and develop defensive talent.

Fox started out as a defensive backs coach and eventually became a defensive coordinator in New York before landing with the Panthers.  He has a deep history of experience to draw on when seeking out quality football players.  Don’t believe it?  Here is a brief rundown of the players draft during his tenure in Carolina that went on to become key contributors to his success there.

• Julius Peppers
• Will Witherspoon
• Ricky Manning
• Chris Gamble
• Richard Marshall
• James Anderson
• Jon Beason
• Thomas Davis
• Charles Johnson
• Captain Munnerlyn
• Greg Hardy

Nobody is saying Fox is perfect.  Like any other coach he has had his misses in the past but the bottom line is he fulfills the two critical components of a head coach.  He can evaluate talent and then develop that talent.  Perhaps that’s why his defenses place in the top 15 almost every year.

Either way, those are two things the Chicago Bears are going to need if they wish to get their historically bad defense back to relevance in a short period of time.