Somewhat surprisingly, Denver Bronco head coach John Fox is out of a job. Reports say this came by way of "mutual agreement" between him and management. (See John Elway, VP, GM, and all-around Mile High Grand Poobah).
Not so surprisingly, Fox's name quickly surfaced as a possibility to fill one of the other vacant NFL head-coaching jobs. In other words, though he'll turn 60 in a few weeks, it's not like he retired. In still other words, it appears that he was fired, though gracefully, from the Broncos.
Brer Fox has definitely been around the NFL for a very long time. He dates all the way back to being a young assistant on Chuck Noll's staff when the Steelers were so dominant back in the 70s. After the usual climbing through the ranks, he became head coach of the Carolina Panthers. He would have mixed success there. Inheriting a 1-15 team, he quickly whipped them into serious playoff contenders. Then they went down, back up, then back to mediocrity over the years. Final record -- 73-71. The Panthers were really good, really bad, and even average during his years at the helm.
But then brand new Denver front office honcho Elway saw something in him and wanted Fox as his coach. And so it came to pass.
His record during his 4 years leading the Broncos was quite impressive. 46-18 overall, four straight AFC West division titles and a Super Bowl appearance just last year. Yes, they were throttled in the Big Dance by the Seattle Seahawks, but just getting to the Super Bowl is something a lot of teams would consider an extremely successful season.
Yet evidently, this wasn't good enough for Elway. It's ironic when one considers Elway's own history as a Bronco player. In his first three trips to the Super Bowl, Elway and his team got beat, badly, each defeat being worse than the last.
Super Bowl XXI. 1987. New York Giants 39. Denver Broncos 20
Super Bowl XXII. 1988. Washington Redskins 42. Broncos 10.
Then a total beatdown two years later.
Super Bowl XXIV. 1990. San Fran 49ers 55. Broncos 10.
In three SB trips Elway and Co. were not only 0-3, but were outscored a whopping 136-40.
It would take Elway until 1998-99 to finally win back-to-back SBs. At which time he was roughly the same age as his quarterback, Peyton Manning, is right now. Then he promptly retired, going out -- finally -- on top.
But John Fox getting the Broncos to the Super Bowl in merely his third year, then falling short this past season, apparently didn't measure up to the standards Elway expects. He wants to win NOW, dammit.
Well, good luck with that considering how other younger teams around the league are on the rise and Woody is stuck with a geezerish QB that never could run, and now seems to have lost his arm strength as well. The former bullets have become wounded ducks.
Conversely, consider the Detroit Lions. Their new head coach, one Jim Caldwell, led the historic sad-sack franchise to an 11-5 record in his first year. This represents a winning percentage of roughly .685. Not too shabby. Whether they got "jobbed" or not in Dallas, the fact remains they lost and were unable to break through their 23 year streak of not winning a playoff game. Still, Caldwell is regarded as some sort of savior. Would the Lions consider firing him now? Not a chance. He's the best thing they've had since Wayne Fontes back in the 90s. At least for now. The next couple years could prove interesting -- either way.
But Fox, with his four division championships in 4 years, the Super Bowl appearance, and a winning percentage of .720 wasn't good enough for the Broncos.
Good grief, if he'd done that in Detroit coaching the Lions over the last four seasons, they would have build a statue of him outside Ford Field and likely named a street and a few buildings after him. Fox would have been celebrated as a conquering hero and achieved almost godlike status. Humbly kneel in reverence, yon Motown peasants, thy Honolulu blue and silver messiah hath finally arrived. Lift up thine eyes to behold in awe your redeemer. And BTW, pass the offering plate, aka known as keep buying those tickets and team paraphernalia.
Bottom line is Caldwell is a hero in Detroit after only one year. With a far better track record over four years, Fox got kicked to the curb in Denver.
The moral of the story?
To some franchises, being a little above average is reason enough to feel good. To others, anything less than flat-out excellence won't be tolerated for very long, and will result in a change.
Detroit and Denver. Opposites in more ways than one......
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