John Fox is out of the hospital but currently remains at his home in Charlotte while recovering from aortic heart valve replacement surgery last week.
Fox won’t put a timeline on his recovery but he fully intends on returning to the sidelines this season as head coach for the Denver Broncos.
“Oh yeah, I don’t think there is any question,” Fox said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday to update his recovery. “There’s always a question - that’s why I don’t like putting timelines - but my goal and dream is to be there obviously before the conclusion of this season.”
“I don’t really like putting timelines on it. I can just tell you that I’m working very hard to get better and I feel like my doctors are pleased that I’ve improved every day. So things are going great. I like where I’m at right now and we’ll see where that leaves us.”
Fox described the incident at a North Carolina golf course that left him to get evaluated with surgery ultimately being necessary to repair a heart defect. Fox said he never lost consciousness but became very light-headed and got tunnel vision before having to sit down and lay down on the ground to alleviate the condition. The evaluation revealed a heart valve was nearly completely closed and required the surgery to fix the issue.
Fox says the recovery is coming along well.
“I think the fact that the normal length of open heart surgery is five to seven days - I was out in four,” Fox said.
“There is always some scary parts to it, and I’m past those. Right now it’s a matter of just doing the right thing. I’ve got good docs, I’ve got a great team in charge of me and they’re doing a terrific job. I’m feeling better every day.”