A Shrug of a Goodbye to John Fox, the Coach We Hardly Knew

[shoopster]

http://https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/chicago-bears-john-fox-ryan-pace-mitch-trubisky/

by Rick Morrisey / Chicago Sun-Times

Of all the things that can be said about John Fox as his time in Chicago draws to an end, one stands out: We don’t get him the way outsiders do.

National TV announcers call him by his nickname during broadcasts, apparently having been slapped on the back a few times by “Foxy’’ during pregame production meetings. Fellow NFL coaches love him for his congeniality and his ability to yuk it up. And a select few national reporters like him because, for reasons that aren’t totally clear, he shares information with them, despite his tightlipped nature.

Here in Chicago, all we can see are three straight seasons of bad Bears football. All we hear is a raspy voice that sounds like a metal pipe being sawed in half. Worse, that voice delivers words to the public that have very little meaning and serve no purpose other than to deflect reporters’ questions. You want an update on Kyle Long’s health? Fox not only won’t give you one, but by the time he’s done talking, you’ll doubt the very existence of anyone named Kyle Long.

While people outside our sad bubble of a city smile at the mention of the ol’ ball coach, we shrug quizzically. Did we miss something? A winsome personality? Motivational genius? Hidden game-day wizardry?

Sunday almost surely will be a quick, final goodbye to a man we hardly knew. The Bears face Minnesota, and it figures to be Fox’s last game as their head coach. Three years, and not a whole lot to show for it . . .

 

[shoopster]

There's more to this preemptive John Fox obituary written by Rick Morrisey for the Chicago Sun-times, but the sentiment of the first half is what stands out. There was something off about "Foxy" here in Chicago. Was it him? Was it Bear fans? There never seemed to be a connection between coach and fan . . .

When he arrived the shoopster christened him John "Da" Fox after he spent his first few days on the job talking tough, ala Mike Ditka, "Da Coach." But he never followed through on any of that tough talk, or much of anything else. He was an enigma, and then his enigmatic nature made him an arrogant annoyance as the losses piled up.

There was never a human element to Fox, never a moment where you said to yourself, "I feel for the guy; all that losing must be tough," or a sympathetic "It's gotta be hard accepting the fact that the game seems to have passed you by." All you could do instead was loathe him and curse him out. Bear fans don't love to hate him, like so many did Ditka; they just hate him.

Perhaps his lowest moment - when he challenged a spot at the goal line and ended up giving away a touchdown - has become a moment not of pity or empathy but instead a hilarious gaffe and gif that Bears fans laugh at every chance they get.

He goes down a strange chapter in Bears lore. - a well-known NFL lifer who nonetheless refused to get to know the fanbase of the team he was hired to lead. Not deliberately mean-spirited, just unrelentingly distant and obtuse. A direct contrast to the affable guy so many others say he is.

As Fox suggests in this article, there's always another NFL job, so maybe that's behind the aloofness he so eloquently expressed earlier this year when he famously croaked "I don't give a rip" about his job with the Bears. And, to make things even easier for Fox, there's "Uncle" Ernie Accorsi . . .

. . . See ya on Brodway, Foxy . . .

 

[Monster]

Yea... He’s like that pretty nice drunk uncle that can’t keep a job.
Only he’s a very wealthy uncle.

 

[Washington]

I think it is safe and appropriate to say that Fox is "day to day."

 

[WestsideResider]

Three years of nothingness. Mediocre in every way. Good riddance.

 

[Warrior Spirit]

What if it was all Pace’s fault all along and any HC he brings in is doomed?


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[MonkeyPox]

Nobody with the football awareness above the level of a turnip misses anything about Fox. He is just another lame duck HC in a long line of lame ducks that have managed to survive in the league. A lack of better options or in the case of the Bears complete ineptitude and stupidity, has allowed people like John Fox to hang around. Riding the coat tails of those around them with actual talent, coaches like Fox stay employed. Coaching in this league is like the quarterbacking, so few competent people are around to do it that scrubs like Glennon and Fox will always have a job. Especially in Chicago.

 

[Toast88]

My Broncos fan friend told me when Fox was hired, “His rosy cheeks will guide the Bears to a Super Bowl.”

My Chiefs fan friends say, “It’s really a shame what happened to Fox. Tough luck for him.”

It’s like a joke for which we’re the only ones who don’t get the punchline.

A coach of integrity. A coach of established football ranks. An affable, likeable mensch.

A boorish loser. A risk-averse dinosaur. A frumpy care-nothing.

Good riddance.

 

[Noonthirtyjoe]

Fox never stood a chance. Not a Fox fan but the reality is, he never stood a chance. I almost feel bad for the guy.

 

[Wintermute]

Glad to finally see a change in the old guard.

That being said, I hope the Bears pound the piss out of the 'Queens. As tired as I am of Fox, wouldn't mind seeing the old guy go out with a win. And more importantly one that would give this team some momentum to build off going into 2018.

 

[Zion]

Fox will always be remembered as the guy who replaced the most incompetent Bears coach in living memory and somehow managed to be MORE incompetent than him

Bears were allergic to winning during Fox's tenure. He somehow managed to simultaneously improve the culture of the team while not winning almost any games. Impressive, really

 

[Omeletpants]

If they would have listened to me about hiring Fox, we wouldnt have had suffered the last 3 years. Just sayin

 

[KennyH]

He's been a placeholder for three years as the team turned over the old guard and started to draft in fresh blood - not a great choice but he clearly was the safe pair of hands that Ernie and George wanted to guide the team through the hardest part of the transition. It'll be interesting to see who comes in and if, as expected, it's down to Pace to pick, then it should be someone younger and not of the old guard.

Probably over optimism but it feels like were about to fully turn the corner...

 

[Omeletpants]

He's been a placeholder for three years as the team turned over the old guard and started to draft in fresh blood - not a great choice but he clearly was the safe pair of hands that Ernie and George wanted to guide the team through the hardest part of the transition. It'll be interesting to see who comes in and if, as expected, it's down to Pace to pick, then it should be someone younger and not of the old guard.

Probably over optimism but it feels like were about to fully turn the corner...

Nonsense. No one signs a coach to a 4 year contract as a "placeholder".

 

[Monster]

A lot of people on here hated the Fox signing.
Turns out they were right.
I hope Pace brings in a winner...
If he turns in playoff appearances I don’t care who it is.
I loath this time of year with all the playoff talk and the Bears have been out for months.
It’s getting fucking tiresome.

I can’t wait to have high hopes in January.
It’s like an all but forgotten feeling!

 

[Teddy KGB]

What if it was all Pace’s fault all along and any HC he brings in is doomed?


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And what if you really are a member of Mensa that can cure cancer?

In other words, why bother contemplating The Impossible?

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[Warrior Spirit]

And what if you really are a member of Mensa that can cure cancer?

In other words, why bother contemplating The Impossible?

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Are you saying it’s impossible that Pace just sucks or there is a cure for cancer? I dare say you’re very wrong on both counts.


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[Mdbearz]

Fox was a bad coach with a bad team.

I was hopeful when he got here, I can not deny that, but to say I was truly excited, that just never happened, not once did I feel we were really turning things around with Fox.

Time to move on...

 

[billwade]

I'm kind of ambivalent towards Fox, but I have to wonder what HC could take an offense led by Mike Glennon and ultimately a rookie with 13 games college experience without an NFL caliber receiver on the active roster and succeed. Maybe really a good HC could have coaxed a couple more wins out of the schedule, but this wasn't a playoff team even if Bill Belichick was coaching it.

 

[mecha]

Glad to finally see a change in the old guard.

That being said, I hope the Bears pound the piss out of the 'Queens. As tired as I am of Fox, wouldn't mind seeing the old guy go out with a win. And more importantly one that would give this team some momentum to build off going into 2018.

like 2011, where Urlacher got kneecapped for some strange reason. ^__^