No. 26: John Fox, Chicago Bears
In two seasons as Bears’ head coach, Fox has a 9-23 record. Couple last year’s 3-13 with a move up to get Mitch Trubisky in this year’s draft, and Chicago clearly has an eye on the future with a head coach that is 62 years old and has two Super Bowl appearances on his resume.
A veteran coach and a rebuilding team that is not necessarily prioritizing veteran players is a bad mix. Look no further than the structure of free agent quarterback Mike Glennon’s contract, which is essentially a one-year commitment and leaves the door open for Trubisky to take the reins.
Fox generally had an aversion to playing rookies during his time as Panthers and Broncos head coach. So it’s easy to see a particular hesitation to play a rookie quarterback this year, no matter how bad the Bears’ record gets.
There was also a report out after the draft that Fox did not know of the Bears’ plan to trade up one spot for Trubisky until a couple of hours before. That’s either bad planning, a unique opportunity that could not be passed up or just outright leaving the head coach out of the loop without any input that would have mattered. Two of those things aren’t in Fox’s control, but the third is an ominous sign for his future in Chicago if there’s anything to it.
It’s safe to say Fox won’t take kindly to being told he has to play Trubisky if such a call comes from above him. If the Bears are on track for another bad season, his media availability and an onslaught of questions about who will start under center may make Fox an underrated source of notable quotes. In any case, Fox’s power is gone and come January his job probably will be too.