With John Fox Hire, Chicago Bears Eye Stability
DENVER (CBS4) - A week ago, John Fox was preparing for a playoff game with the Denver Broncos. Today, he's preparing for next season with the Chicago Bears.
The Bears announced Friday they hired Fox as their new head coach. He'll be introduced at 9 a.m. on Monday.
On Twitter, the team touted that Fox took over a 1-15 Carolina Panthers team in 2002 and led them to the Super Bowl in his second season. The Bears are looking for a similar turnaround.
Fox moves from a disappointed but perennial contender to an underachieving franchise in disarray. The Bears finished 5-11 in 2014 and won just one division game. They fired Marc Trestman on Dec. 29.
Fox also inherits the closest thing to a football soap opera in Chicago. While the Bears' roster is considered talented -- especially on offense -- it has underperformed. Former Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler hasn't played well, and his demeanor has struck some observers as unprofessional and sour.
As expected, it didn't take long for Fox, who "agreed to part ways" this week with the Broncos and general manager John Elway, to find a new job.
Fox led the Broncos to four straight AFC West titles, one conference championship game and a Super Bowl. He was 46-18 in regular season games and 2-4 in the playoffs. He won two division titles with the Panthers in nine seasons and is 119-89 overall in 13 seasons as a head coach. He has only had four losing seasons.
