Because of his inability to adjust to the new offensive style in the NFL, the Chicago Bears fired John Fox.
On the NFL’s “Black Monday” the Chicago Bears finally made public what everyone expected for weeks — they fired head coach John Fox. Fox garnered a record of 14-34 over three years in Chicago. He finished as the second=worst Chicago Bears head coach in terms of winning percentage.
Some felt great when the Bears hired Fox in 2015. He had a history of rebuilding struggling franchises, especially in his second year. He led the Carolina Panthers and the Denver Broncos to the Super Bowl in his second season with both.
The same didn’t happen in Chicago, however.
There were signs that Fox wouldn’t succeed with the Bears. Fox was just fired by John Elway and the Denver Broncos. He compiled a nice 46-18 record in four seasons in Denver, but he had clashes with Elway on what direction the team would take to win the Super Bowl. He had one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of the game, yet wanted to use more of a running game in the offense.
That is the main problem Fox had in Chicago — his inability to adapt to a pass-happy NFL. His stubbornness in sticking to his run-first philosophy on offense turned him into a dinosaur. Elway couldn’t take it anymore and decided on a change.
Soon after leaving Denver, Fox landed in Chicago. He said he’d continue his conservative play and it cost him again, per the Daily Herald:
"We talk about the toughness and the personality of running the ball and stopping the run,. I think that’s the essence of football. That’s just me."
Continuing to have a run-heavy offense handcuffed the Bears offense. Even when opposing defenses stacked the line, Fox refused to go to the passing game.
Fox also had trouble with playing rookies. He had a gem with Tarik Cohen and a huge target in Adam Shaheen, not to mention the new face of the franchise, Mitch Trubisky. He kept Trubisky from throwing more and played the other two way too little during the season. On key drives late in games, Cohen and Shaheen were nowhere near the field.
In the opening game of the season, the Bears played the defending NFC champions Atlanta Falcons tough. They actually had a chance to go ahead late in the game. They had the ball first-and-goal inside the five. Fox ran four plays with Cohen on the bench. The same Cohen who ran for 66 yards and another 47 yards and a touchdown through the air.
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The same happened against the Detroit Lions. Cohen and Shaheen combined for 100 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns, yet on the final drive, both were on the bench. John Fox steadfastly hung onto his run-first offense and refused to enter the 21st century. Now this job might be his last job in this century.