The Denver Broncos Must Part Ways with John Fox
By Joe Morrone
Jan 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos head coach John Fox reacts in the first half against the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Colts defeated the Broncos 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
When the Denver Broncos hired John Fox following the 2010 season and the disaster that was the Josh McDaniels era, it made all the sense in the world. The Broncos were at their lowest point in almost 40 years, the organization was as toxic as it has ever been and there was apathy and anger among the fans.
The hiring of John Elway to run the front office was the first step in rebuilding the trust between the organization and the fans, and Fox was brought in to change the attitude in the building. Fox was hired to rebuild a team, both on the field and off and he did a fantastic job. There’s no denying that.
He led the Broncos to four AFC West Titles and a Super Bowl appearance and Peyton Manning or no Peyton Manning, Fox gets credit for those results.
However he has taken the Broncos as far as he can and it’s time for a change. It’s time for Elway to make the tough decision and fire Fox. For our purposes today, let’s assume Manning returns for one more run at a championship.
If that’s the case, then Elway can’t take the chance of Fox getting in the way of that goal. As good as Fox is in the regular season, he’s that bad in the playoffs and it’s not just the playoffs.
In his four seasons with the Broncos, Fox is 37-6 versus non-playoff teams and 12-16 versus playoff teams. That stat confirms what every Broncos fan already knows, Fox’s teams are not prepared in the big games. The examples are everywhere but here are a few.
When the Broncos were blown out in the Super Bowl last season, the Seattle Seahawks said after the game that they knew exactly what the Broncos were doing on offense. They could read every play and it sure looked like it. Now some people wrote that off as the Seahawks being the Seahawks, they say stuff like that all the time but then it happened again.
Following the loss to the New England Patriots in November, Bill Belichick who never says anything told reporters that the Patriots knew “exactly” what the Broncos offense was going to do. That’s disturbing and it falls squarely on the head coach.
Then there was the debacle on Sunday versus the Indianapolis Colts where the Broncos looked completely unprepared. The game plans on both sides of the ball were a complete joke and while both Adam Gase and Jack Del Rio deserve their fair share of the blame, the majority of the blame falls at the feet of Fox.
To win in the NFL Playoffs, coaches have to be willing to be bold and take chances. Belichick called for a trick play in Saturday’s win over the Baltimore Ravens that resulted in a wide receiver throwing a touchdown pass. Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett threw deep on fourth and short late in the game versus the Green Bay Packers and if not for a controversial call, that decision may have won the game.
Fox just does not have the guts to make those kind of calls and that approach works over the course of a sixteen game schedule, but it is doomed to fail in January.
If Manning returns and the Broncos go “all in” again then they need a coach who knows what to do with the kind of talent that is on this team. Some will disagree but I believe the Broncos have as much or more talent than the Patriots, and the difference is that they have Belichick and the Broncos have Fox.
Do the Broncos have weaknesses? Of course but every team does but this was or is a Super Bowl caliber roster, and they failed to make it out of the divisional round for the second time in three seasons. That’s unacceptable and someone has to be held accountable, and that someone is Fox.
Elway is known for his competiveness and shear hatred of losing, and there’s no way that Sunday’s performance sat well with him. He will make changes but there’s only one change that will ultimately produce different results, and it goes something like this.
Foxy, thank you for everything you’ve done for the Broncos but I believe it’s time for a change.