Chicago Bears: Important Stat For John Fox Situation

John Fox knows he needs to win more football games as the November and December approach for the Chicago Bears in 2017.

Those two months have been somewhat brutal to him since arriving in Chicago. In fact he’s 3-10 during those critical months since arriving in 2015. There’s a good chance they will likely decide his fate as Bears head coach. The stance among fans on him is hardly universal. Some feel it’s best for the team to keep him in place for now. See how he does with the continued development of a young team.

Then there are those who see him as little more than a team builder who is in truth a mediocre coach. His players continue to exhibit bad habits that stem from discipline issues. Even during their wins this year its been a big problem. In fact it’s a common staple of Fox’s long tenure in the NFL. His teams play hard but they also play sloppy and often commit dumb mistakes at the worst possible time.

Will the Bears brass look past this regardless of what the final record is this year?

John Fox faces an ugly history if he can’t start stacking wins

Here’s how it breaks down. Since George Halas retired in 1967 the Bears have had nine different head coaches prior to Fox. Three of those coaches went through a spell where they had three-straight losing seasons. None of them managed to keep their job beyond the third.

Jim Dooley

• 7-7
• 1-13
• 6-8
• 6-8

Abe Gibron

• 4-9-1
• 3-11
• 4-10

Dave Wannstedt

• 7-9
• 4-12
• 4-12

Neil Armstrong and Dick Jauron both had two-straight losing seasons after brief playoff runs in 1979 and 2001 respectively. Suffice to say the Bears have at least been consistent on this point. It’s basically three strikes and you’re out. That makes the baseline clear enough for Fox. He has to finish at least 8-8 this season to save his job. At 2-4 this means he has to go 6-4 over the final 10 games of the season in order to pull it off.

This isn’t an impossible task. A few factors may be shifting in his favor. The continued ascent of the Bears defense, their power running game and the maturation of Mitch Trubisky has them playing better. Their schedule also lightens up during the second half. As of right now five of their final 10 games will be against an opponent with a record of .500 or worse. Last but not least, Aaron Rodgers was just placed on injured reserve.

Next: Chicago Bears: Power Ranking John Fox Replacements

His exit gives the Bears a serious chance to knock off the Packers after the bye week. It’s hardly smooth sailing ahead but Fox is a survivor in this league. Does he have one more great escape in his arsenal?