MINNEAPOLIS _ The Bears completed a dismal 3-13 season with a 38-10 loss to the Vikings on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. The team finished the year with a four-game losing streak, the longest skid in the John Fox era. Now, with their third-straight last-place finish in the books, the Bears will begin their heavy lifting, evaluating what changes are needed and just how high up the chain they may go.
After Sunday's loss, Fox addressed reporters. Here are a few quick highlights from that press conference.
_On losing the final two games by a combined score of 79-31:
We were minus-10 (in the turnover department). When you give the ball away that many times, the math usually doesn't work very good. So really in the last three games of the year, we were five, five and four (turnovers) even against Green Bay. And we had a chance to win against Green Bay. Kept it close. But these last two became problematic.
_On whether he has asked for or received assurance that he would be the Bears coach in 2017:
You know I really haven't. I think at the end of the day, I've been doing this a long time. I've never worried about job security. And I'm not going to start now.
_On whether he at least had a sense that he'd be back for next season:
The one thing I've learned about this league is a lot of different things can happen. But I'm not going to get into all that now. I'm trying to get over this loss.
_On what he feels has been established this season and in the past two seasons combined:
I think we've made a lot of roster changes. And some of them this year were not by design due to injury. I think it's given us a chance to find out about guys like a Cam Meredith, a Jordan Howard. We've got a lot of young guys on our roster that were probably further down the depth chart to begin with. I think we've built depth, which we did not have. And you saw that even very early in the preseason, when you line up against playoff teams. That's a very good indicator. ... So I thought as we probably need to improve the front line (talent-wise) as well as our depth. But that's something we've gotten better at. I feel better about that at this time this year than I did at this time last year. Now we'll see where it goes.
_On evaluating the coaching staff going forward:
You evaluate everything. Our whole season. I think from the injuries to turnovers and the lack of (on defense). You just evaluate the whole season. And that includes everybody involved.
_On whether he has final say on coaching staff decisions:
I've never really gotten into all that final say stuff. I think when you have people who look at things logically, you usually come to the same conclusion.
_On his working relationship with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio:
I think it's good. I don't think it's easy for anybody. I know (losing) isn't easy for (media). I know it's not easy for us or our fans. But when you're going through 3-13, it's never easy. Regardless of what coach or personalities or whatever you're referring to, I wouldn't want to single out one guy. It's a very competitive game.
_On whether he has questioned his dedication to this job after a season like this and whether he wants to be back:
When you start something, you want to finish it. I think compared to situations I was in (elsewhere) and chose to leave, this is a job I wanted. I think a lot of this organization. I think a lot of this city. I think a lot of the tradition of this team. I've worked in a couple of different organizations that are similar as far as they've been around for a long time. But it's definitely a job I want to finish.
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