NEWSLETTER
Visualizing John Fox’s future with the Chicago Bears can be difficult.
Fox’s teams are 11-27 since his arrival in Chicago in 2015. Injuries have piled up, depth has deteriorated, the offense has taken steps backwards, and penalties have often stunted signs of progress.
Mike Mulligan of the Chicago Tribune considers all of it – including wins and losses – as he describes Fox’s future with the team as more complicated than it may look on the surface. You’ll want to check that one out.
Basically, Fox’s short-term objective is to create a competitive atmosphere, put his players in a position to be successful, and ultimately, win games every week. Unfortunately, this game plan might come at the expense of developing some younger talent. Remember, Fox is under contract through the end of the 2018 season, and at age 62, might not be as concerned with what a developing, raw, but talented young draft pick looks like in 2020.
On the other side of the spectrum, the big-picture plan is to develop QB Mitch Trubisky – and do so while trying to be competitive. Of course, Pace didn’t do Fox, Trubisky, or himself any favors by not bringing a playmaking receiver into the organization via the draft or free agency. Instead, Pace invested in four other draft picks who projected to be more like long-term projects than plug-and-play quick fixes (to be fair, RB Tarik Cohen and safety Eddie Jackson have been pleasant surprises).
Still, it’s easy to see how the Fox-Pace dynamic appears to be complex, with one playing for the present and the other, the future.
