Jan. 15--John Fox made his way out the Broncos door earlier in the week, his abrupt exit coming with an eye on exploring new opportunity. Yet even with the emotions still raw from Fox's departure, Broncos general manager John Elway felt compelled to point out the qualities he admired most in his former coach.
Sure, Elway had hoped Fox's time leading the Broncos would have produced a Super Bowl triumph. But the Hall of Fame quarterback went out of his way Tuesday to praise Fox's tenacity, his exuberance, his energy. And he looked back with fond appreciation of his January 2011 decision to hire Fox, his first major move as a Broncos executive.
"His energy and the type of guy he was, for what we needed four years ago, John was that perfect guy," Elway said.
Now it's up to new Bears general manager Ryan Pace to determine if he feels similarly about Fox. On Wednesday, the 59-year-old coach spun through Halas Hall to interview for the Bears' head coaching position. And it's widely believed Fox has become the team's top target with his own interest being to land in Chicago.
As of Wednesday night, the Bears had yet to reach a deal with Fox. But the interest in doing so remained very much alive.
Fox's influence in turning the Broncos around should not go unrecognized. When he arrived in Denver, the Broncos had just floundered through a 4-12 season in 2010. Yet with an injection of Fox's charisma and leadership, the Broncos rallied to make a four-victory leap in Fox's first season, reaching the playoffs and defeating the Steelers in the wild-card round.
In each of Fox's four years with the Broncos, they won the AFC West, winning 46 regular-season games.
During that same span, the Bears have won 31 games and missed the postseason every year, clearly in need of resuscitation if they are to return to prominence.
Pace made it clear last week that he had no intention of predicting an immediate turnaround for a franchise that has been to the playoffs only once since 2006. The new general manager understands the gradual process involved in strengthening a team so that it can reach the postseason and then sustain its success.
But Pace also openly recognized that a home run head coaching hire could be a major catalyst to the organization's overall efforts. After all, during his 14-season stay with the Saints, Pace witnessed their rapid recovery after the hiring of Sean Payton in 2006. That move followed a 3-13 season. Yet Payton immediately pushed the Saints to the NFC championship game in his first season. He combined with the front office and his coaching staff to build around a nucleus of players who showcased great toughness, passion, intelligence and instinct.
"The whole building was on the same page," Pace said. "Everything was focused on winning games. Everyone dropped their egos and the rest is history."
Ultimately, the Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009 and made five playoff appearance in Payton's first eight seasons. That's the model Pace will attempt to replicate in Chicago. And not coincidentally, Payton and Fox are former colleagues and close friends. So Payton's endorsement certainly carries weight with Pace, who vowed to restore an element of toughness to the Bears under a coaching leader who can rally players.
Fox's arrival, given his charisma and experience, would have the potential to energize a Bears team that finished 2014 in shambles, losing its final five games and struggling significantly across all three phases. The Bears have been forward with their need to regroup and rebuild. Now, they hope, they will land the right coach to oversee those efforts.
Tribune reporter Rich Campbell contributed.
dwiederer@tribpub.com
Twitter @danwiederer
