MINNEAPOLIS -- It's not official yet, but both ESPN's Adam Schefter and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport are reporting the Bears will not retain John Fox as their head coach after Sunday's season finale against the Minnesota Vikings.
These less-than-surprising pregame revelations have been coming for a while. The first time it seriously appeared like Fox's job was in danger was following that dismal 23-16 loss to the Green Bay Packers in November, when the team's chief rival was an underdog without its best player (Aaron Rodgers) and still managed to win. A blowout, uncompetitive loss to the Philadelphia Eagles followed by Robbie Gould banging five field goals through the Soldier Field uprights in the San Francisco 49ers' early December win helped seal Fox's fate.
And the controlled development of Mitchell Trubisky, which fit with Fox's conservative coaching style, likely didn't help his chances to return.
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Fox wouldn't reveal last week if he'd spoken to general manager Ryan Pace or team ownership about his future. It would be a major shock at this point if Fox did return to be the Bears' coach, and this 14-33 stretch with one game to go could be his last go-around as a head coach in the NFL.
"I haven’t really thought about (continuing to coach)," Fox said this week. "We’ve still got this game. I don’t do much of that contemplating until the offseason. So we’re not quite there yet."