Chicago Bears: John Fox’s Job Now In Hands of Packers
By Erik Lambert
John Fox has to know he’s in a precarious position. He just wants Chicago Bears fans to think he has all the cards lining up for him.
In truth it’s not that way at all. Where is the optimism coming from? Yes the Bears defense is playing well and Jordan Howard is still a beast. This is still a team sitting at 3-5 coming off a defeat in New Orleans two weeks ago. Fox has gone 0-2 coming out of a bye week so far in Chicago. He had a nice long layoff before the first game this year against the Packers and got blasted 35-14 anyway. It really feels like most of the self-assurance this week has to do with the fact that Aaron Rodgers won’t be playing.
Of course not having to go against a Hall of Fame quarterback is a rare relief for the Bears, but by no means should it suddenly give them a free pass. In fact Green Bay has been through this before. Back in 2013 when Rodgers broke his collarbone the first time, the team went through a down period before adjusting. They lost the game to Chicago where he got injured and then were dismissed in two lopsided affairs against Philadelphia and New York. It wasn’t until the third Rodgers-less game that things began to shift.
Mike McCarthy is a master of the scramble drill
It was against a division opponent, the Minnesota Vikings. Matt Flynn and Scott Tolzien combined for 316 yards passing and the Packers also ran for an additional 196 yards. They managed to push the game into overtime and salvaged a tie. That narrow escape led to them going 2-1 over the next three games, setting up the devastating Bears defeat in week 17 that knocked them out of the playoff race.
It was the first proof that Packers head coach Mike McCarthy has a certain knack for rallying his team just when all hope appeared dead. In 2015 they started 6-0 only to crash to earth, losing four of their next five. Somehow they managed to rally for three-straight wins, including two on the road to steal the division. A year later it was even worse. Green Bay stumbled to a 4-6 record and looked dead in the water. Again they rallied at just the right time, winning their next eight-straight to reach the NFC championship.
The point being? Even a wounded animal is still dangerous.
This is especially true for Bears head coaches facing tenuous job security. As it turns out Fox is facing a high-pressure situation. Every head coach who has been fired by the Bears since George Halas retired were often delivered the killing blow by a Green Bay loss. None of them went out with a win in their final Packer game.
- Marc Trestman: Lost 55-14
- Lovie Smith: Lost 21-13 (missed playoffs as result)
- Dick Jauron: Lost 34-21 (cost them chance at division title)
- Dave Wannstedt: Lost 26-20
- Mike Ditka: Lost 17-3
- Neill Armstrong: Lost 21-17
- Abe Gibron: Lost 20-3
- Jim Dooley: Lost 31-10
Next: Chicago Bears 2018 Mock Offseason: The Big Push
So imagine what happens if the Bears find a way to lose on Sunday. Not only would it be doubly humiliating since the Packers did it without Rodgers, but it also drops them to 3-6 and likely kills their fleeting hopes of making the playoffs. It would mark the second-straight year the Bears were swept by Green Bay and drop Fox to 1-5 against them. The likelihood of him keeping his job after that wouldn’t feel nearly so possibl.e