John

Fox

Fox, 67, is the second former head coach to join the Colts’ coaching staff. Former Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley is the team’s defensive coordinator. A dinosaur who clearly had no place in the modern NFL, hopefully Fox will have little input on the Colts’ defense in 2022. Indianapolis in 2021 had what Pro Football Focus graded as the NFL’s fourth best run defense and the 14th best coverage unit.

Heckert served as the Browns’ GM from 2010-12. The news comes just two days after Broncos director of player personnel Matt Russell was busted for drunk driving. Both executives will be facing league-mandated discipline in addition to whatever the law decides. It’s a bad, bad look for the Broncos, who have called the situation “extremely upsetting.”

Russell is suspected of being initially involved in a car crash in Frisco, and “a few minutes later” rear-ended a police car in Breckenridge with his 2008 Toyota Tundra. “Any time anybody is impaired and hits a fully-marked police car, that person should not have been driving in the first place,” said a Colorado state trooper. Russell, a well-known executive working under John Elway, has been charged with DUI, careless driving resulting in injury, having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle, and failure to display proof of insurance.

Fox was finally able to return to the Denver area on Wednesday, and is apparently ready to go full steam ahead. The Broncos are in competent hands with interim coach Jack Del Rio, but Fox’s quick return is certainly good news for a team vying for the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Fox needed heart valve replacement surgery and has been away from the team for the last month. Interim coach Jack Del Rio has led the Broncos to a 3-1 record in the meantime, with the only loss coming in overtime at New England.

On leave since undergoing heart-valve-replacement surgery in early November, Fox has been recovering at his offseason home in Charlotte. The Post reports “it has still not been determined” when Fox will resume coaching the Broncos, but he’s obviously taking positive steps. The Broncos were 7-1 before Fox’s absence. They are 2-0 under Jack Del Rio entering Sunday night’s game.

“I want to get him done,” Elway told ESPN Denver. Fox has just one year left on his deal. Fox is 34-14 in three years at the helm of the Broncos, but that number obviously has as much to do with the signing of Peyton Manning as Fox’s coaching. Fox is a steady hand, but not exactly a visionary as a head coach.

Despite John Fox’s clever use of every available #competitiveadvantage, the Bears are still 1-6 and likely to fall to 1-7 Monday night. They do not have a quarterback, the backfield is a mess, and they are once again dealing with several injuries. The defense has played better than expected, but it is the lone bright spot in a so far dreadful season. If it keeps going this way, it would not be surprising if Fox and/or GM Ryan Pace gets the boot after the season. Fox still has two years left on his deal.

Heading into Week 17, Fox has managed just nine wins in two years with the Bears, but the team did show signs of improvement this season, especially on defense. If the organization can retain DC Vic Fangio, which seems like a real question at this point, find a quarterback, and address the secondary, the Bears could be a surprise playoff contender next season. Fox needs to turn the ship around quickly, however.

After going 6-10 in his first season with Chicago, Fox has guided the Bears to a 3-9 mark through 12 games this year. The loss of OC Adam Gase has been substantial, and the promotion of QBs coach Dowell Loggains hasn’t panned out. But according to Mulligan, word is Bears DC Vic Fangio is the one who won’t be back. Fangio is probably the Bears’ best coach on their entire staff, and the defensive issues have mostly been due to a lack of talent in the secondary and a rash of injuries in the front-seven. Fox is unlikely to turn this thing around in Chicago.