Remembering the Bears' "Mike Fox" Era

BEARS HEAD COACH JOHN FOX MISIDENTIFIED AS "MIKE FOX" BY USA TODAY, 2016.

The venerable Bears franchise was well into its tenth decade before it hired a head coach with previous head-coaching experience—unless we count the times that legendary owner George Halas re-hired himself as head coach after occasional sabbaticals. On January 19, 2015, rookie general manager Ryan Pace introduced John Fox as the Bears' fifteenth head coach. "The more you do it," Fox said at the press conference (apparently referring to coaching), "the better you should get."

     Fox had been good to that point, compiling a 118-89 record and seven postseason appearances in nine years with the Carolina Panthers and four years with the Denver Broncos. Fox's 2003 Panthers and 2013 Broncos both won conference championships but lost the Super Bowl. 

     After the brief and bizarre Marc Trestman era, it seemed that the Bears had nowhere to go but up. Alas, Fox's tenure was more dignified but no less disastrous than Trestman's. The Bears won 14 games and lost 34 in three years, and it was obvious that the game had passed Fox by. When he was fired after the 2017 season, Fox offered a succinct explanation for his dismissal. "Well," he said, "it's a results-oriented business."