Anything Short of a Super Bowl and John Fox is in Serious Trouble
By Joe Morrone
The Denver Broncos face a huge final six games of the regular season but no one is facing more pressure than Head Coach, John Fox. The Broncos were built to win the Super Bowl and anything short of that may very well result in big changes, starting with the head coach.
The Broncos are currently tied for first in the AFC West with the Kansas City Chiefs, and the Chiefs have the easier schedule. It is likely that the division will come down to the November 30th game in Kansas City. If the Broncos end up as a wild card team and lose in the first-round of the playoffs, I can almost guarantee you that Fox would be out.
Even if the Broncos win the division, Fox’s job will still hinge on their playoff performance. For Fox to keep his job, I believe that the Broncos have to at least return to the Super Bowl. Anything short of that, and Fox is in trouble.
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Fox cannot afford another playoff meltdown like the one versus the Baltimore Ravens two years ago. He cannot withstand another blowout loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game. In short, much like the Broncos, it’s Super Bowl or bust for Fox.
I have no doubt the Executive Vice-President of Football Operations, John Elway likes and respects Fox but I know that he loves winning over all else. Elway built the Broncos to win now and he’s given Fox and his coaching staff more than enough to get the job done.
Sure the Broncos have their issues on the offensive line but in a salary cap era, every team has a spot or two that are weaker than the others. That’s where the coaching has to take over and improve that weakness, to date Fox and his staff have not done that with the offensive line.
Elway believes, right or wrong, that he has given Fox everything he needs to win a championship and his patience is starting to dwindle.
There are rumors that it was Elway who demanded the changes on the offensive line and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is starting to involve himself more and more. There’s a story about Elway that best illustrates how competitive the former quarterback is.
Back during his playing days, Elway had a pool table that he never lost on. One night, his former backup Gary Kubiak was over and beat Elway for the first time on that table. The next day, Elway sold the pool table.
Elway has made it clear from day one that the goal is championships and the Broncos have had a team capable of winning a title over the past three years. The loss to the Ravens was just one of those days and the Broncos did reach the Super Bowl last season, but Elway won’t settle for another disappointment this season.
Fox has six games plus the postseason to show that he should be back next season. If that’s going to happen, then he needs to have the Broncos better prepared than they have been over the past three weeks.
They looked intimidated in New England and they looked disinterested versus the Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams. There’s no doubt that some, if not most, of that is on the players but eventually that falls back on the head coach.
Fox’s first test is this Sunday versus the Miami Dolphins; the Broncos must play with more urgency and show some resolve. The entire football world is either questioning the Broncos or writing them off completely, and another poor performance versus the Dolphins could all but seal Fox’s fate.
Elway knows the window is closing quickly with Peyton Manning and if Fox can’t deliver, he will find someone who can.