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John Fox Isn’t Ready To Call It Career In the NFL Just Yet

By Erik Lambert

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 31: Chicago Bears head coach John Fox on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings on December 31, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 31: Chicago Bears head coach John Fox on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings on December 31, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – DECEMBER 31: Chicago Bears head coach John Fox on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings on December 31, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – DECEMBER 31: Chicago Bears head coach John Fox on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of the game against the Minnesota Vikings on December 31, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /

John Fox at his heart is a competitor. In general coaches who are competitive prefer to end their careers on a high note. That’s not the case for him.

Things couldn’t have gone much worse for Fox in Chicago. Despite all his experience, knowledge and best efforts he couldn’t make the Bears into a winning team quickly enough to save himself from being fired this off-season. That marks the third NFL franchise to dismiss him as their head coach. At age 62 the odds are decidedly against him ever getting that chance again. One would think that he might decide to call it a career at this point.

At the end of the day though, Fox loves football. Players and assistants have known him to be a man of boundless energy, even at his current age. Is it reasonable to expect he’d just walk away on such a sour note after what happened in Chicago? Doesn’t look that way. Mike Klis, an insider of the Denver Broncos who knows Fox well is hearing the old coach isn’t ready to walk away just yet. In fact unlike some other old coaches (Jeff Fisher) he might be willing to take a demotion to stay in the league.

Fox was a capable coordinator but that was ages ago

It’s hard to remember that there was ever a time that Fox wasn’t a head coach. From 2002 to 2017 he’s held that job. In order to find the last time he was a defensive coordinator, one would have to go back to 2001 when he was with the New York Giants. He was 46-years old at the time. Back then he was fairly good at the job. Across five seasons in the Big Apple his unit ranked top 10 in points allowed three times. He knows what good defense looks like.

At the same time it’s been ages since he’s actually had to call a defensive game. The league has evolved considerably in the past 17 years with the advent of new offensive schemes that he’s not used to countering during games. This is not to say he can’t. He’s obviously a smart coach. Still, it’s been a long time and there’s no telling if he can just go back to doing that after such a long layoff. Time will tell on whether a team is willing to give him that chance.

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