Chicago Bears head coach John Fox will be fired in 2017
Do not expect John Fox to make it through the season as head coach of the Chicago Bears.
I won’t bury the lede here, Chicago Bears head coach John Fox is a dead man walking. After going 3-13 last season, the Bears do not expect to be competitive in 2017. I like a lot of the moves that the Bears made in the offseason, but a majority of them were made with an eye on the future. The Bears are clearly a rebuilding team who is unlikely to compete in 2017.
At 62 years old, Fox simply does not fit their long-term vision well. The longer that they pretend that he could be the coach of the future for this team, the worse off they are going to be. Unless the Chicago Bears surprise everyone and become true contenders in the NFC North this season, I fully expect Fox to be among the first head coaches in the NFL who is fired.
Although it doesn’t help, it’s not just Fox’s 9-23 record and back-to-back last place NFC North finishes as the leader of the Bears. Fox is an old-school coach who has not adapted well to the modern game. Football is passing him by and the Bears should be worried about him leading this young team in the future.
Bothing the quarterback situation
Luckily, they have a great pair of coordinators to prevent him from doing too much damage, but Fox is still the one in charge. He is clearly botching their current quarterback situation. I am fine with them making Mike Glennon the starter in 2017, but Mitch Trubisky has the number three right now is an absolute joke. Fox needs to get Trubisky preseason reps with a real offensive unit. The Bears’ third offensive line is going to get him killed.
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Trubisky is a great player who has a ton of upside, but I honestly believe that if Fox is too involved in his future, the head coach will ruin him. John Fox is not a good NFL coach anymore and he needs to be fired.
The Bears are set up well to deal with a mid-season coaching change. First, the expectations aren’t there, so even if they deal with the coaching change poorly, it’s not like they are going to get killed in the media. Most importantly, they have a duo of coaches who could step in and do an admirable job.
Logical replacements
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio would be the logical mid-season replacement for Fox, but I am not sure if he would be interested in the job this late in his career. Fangio may be more interested in simply taking care of his defense and not worrying about all the head-coaching duties. If that’s the case, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains would be a strong choice.
Loggains is a young offensive coach who is well-respected around the league. Giving him a head coaching job this season would be sooner than expected, but Loggains is a talented guy who is going to get an opportunity at some point. Firing Fox mid-season and replacing him with Loggains may be the best plan of attack. This would give Loggains an opportunity to prove himself worthy as a head coach or not.
If Loggains were to perform well, the Bears’ offseason coaching search would be pretty easy.
Next: Five biggest X-Factors for Bears in 2017
When it comes down to it, the Chicago Bears are a young and rebuilding team with a ton of long-term upside. John Fox is not a terrible NFL head coach, but he is not a strong long-term option.
The Bears need to find a guy who fits their long-term plans better than Fox. The longer they wait, the harder it is going to be when they make the change. I fully expect the Chicago Bears to fire head coach John Fox during the 2017 season.