Old Friend John Fox Returns to the NFC North as a Consultant for the Detroit Lions

An old “friend” is coming back to the division.

John Fox, who was the Chicago Bears’ head coach from 2015-17, is making his way back to the NFC North and is joining the Detroit Lions in a consultant role:

Looking back on it, the Fox era in Chicago was an awkward time for all of us.

Because, on the one hand, I have a small bit of appreciation (if not admiration) for Fox. He came in after Marc Trestman made a mess of the Chicago Bears organization and brought a hint of stability and some respectability by signing on to become head coach. And that wasn’t inconsequential. It was a small step out of the gutter, but it felt important at the time. He also brought along Vic Fangio to run his defense. And even after Fox’s departure, Fangio hung around and left quite the imprint during his time in Chicago. But on the other hand, Fox didn’t put together any winning seasons, was rather stubborn in his management style, and his quarterback development left something to be desired.

But we’ll always have the story about his pet monkey Gidget.

Since leaving the Bears, Fox has spent time as a TV analyst and was in a senior defensive assistant type of role with the Colts last year. These types of gigs seem to keep popping up for football old-heads to hang around the game for a bit while longer. So I guess I’ll tip my cap to Fox for snagging a gig in the NFL at age 68. Keep on keeping on, Foxy.

written by

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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