'A Guy You Want to Fight For'

[Denver Native (Carol)]

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – When Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway and General Manager Brian Xanders began searching for a head coach to lead the 2011 Broncos, they had a singular objective in mind.

“We needed these guys to enjoy football again,” Elway said.

John Fox was the man for that job.

rest - good article - http://www.denverbroncos.com/news-and-blogs/article-1/A-Guy-You-Want-to-Fight-For/20128511-ca22-4fa6-a57a-01c29906e09e

[MOtorboat]

John Fox is a good football coach. I'm glad Elway made the decision to hire him.

[VonSackemMiller]

Stop gap hire. John Fox will be fired in another year.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Stop gap hire. John Fox will be fired in another year.

Glad you are not one of the Broncos players - did you even read the article to see what the players had to say, as they are the ones who matter.

[VonSackemMiller]

Yeah they just feel bad for the old man, Youll never hear a carolina player diss John Fox.....But there all happy hes gone.

[VonSackemMiller]

You never heard our players diss Josh McDaniels either. They were all oh so sad when he left. So what are you saying?

[Denver Native (Carol)]

You never heard our players diss Josh McDaniels either. They were all oh so sad when he left. So what are you saying?

Fox will NOT be fired in another year - that is what I am saying

[VonSackemMiller]

Yeah okay, Fox was a piss poor HC in Carolina but hes the long term answer in Denver? If John Fox has 3 winning seasons in 10 years as he did in carolina thats acceptable for you huh? lmao

[MOtorboat]

Yeah okay, Fox was a piss poor HC in Carolina but hes the long term answer in Denver? If John Fox has 3 winning seasons in 10 years as he did in carolina thats acceptable for you huh? lmao

How many coaches have coaches in two Conference Championship games?

That said, who do you want as the head coach?

[wayninja]

Stop gap hire. John Fox will be fired in another year.

Why on earth would you feel this way? His first year performance was pretty damn impressive.

[VonSackemMiller]

How many coaches have coaches in two Conference Championship games?

That said, who do you want as the head coach?

Shanahan had 2 super bowls, and was fired, Andy Reid 6 NFc champ games and is on the hot seat year in and year out, But almighty john Fox and his 3 winning seasons in 10 years is the standard?

Dennis Allen should be the HC, Then he could raid the Saints offensive staff and then go from there. Nomore Fox ball!!! Im sick of it after one year now i can see why Carolina fans were so sad year in and year out.

[VonSackemMiller]

Why on earth would you feel this way? His first year performance was pretty damn impressive.

Yeah 1-4, He was picking up right where he left off in carolina untill he was forced to play a guy he didnt want to play in Tebow. Bottom line Fox Ball doesnt work in the league anymore and thats why im already sick of it. Punt first football just doesnt work anymore unless your playing bottom feeders of the NFL who cant score or move the ball. Take a look at our schedule next year. Fox ball will not work, Take a look at his last year in carolina and you see why they went 1-15 playing fox ball vs brees, ryans, freemans and the rest of the super NFC.

If he takes Fox ball and trashes it then we might stand a chance, If not the broncos are going to struggle no matter who we have on offense because its too predictable and too lame. Run run run punt, run run pass punt will never work in the NFL again as it did for him back in the early 2000s

[Ziggy]

Fox did a great job taking a 4-12 talent starved team to the 2nd round of the playoffs. I can't wait to see what he does when Elway starts to bring the talent level up. I'm guessing the same thing that he did in Carolina before the owner went on the cheap and refused to sign any decent free agents or even keep most of thier own good ones.

[wayninja]

Yeah 1-4, He was picking up right where he left off in carolina untill he was forced to play a guy he didnt want to play in Tebow. Bottom line Fox Ball doesnt work in the league anymore and thats why im already sick of it. Punt first football just doesnt work anymore unless your playing bottom feeders of the NFL who cant score or move the ball. Take a look at our schedule next year. Fox ball will not work, Take a look at his last year in carolina and you see why they went 1-15 playing fox ball vs brees, ryans, freemans and the rest of the super NFC.

Bullshit. Nobody forced Fox to put Tebow in. He stuck his neck out and it had a good result. That's what coaches are supposed to do. Put their necks on the line to give their team a shot. Sticking with Orton simply would have made him a terrible coach. It stands to reason that not sticking with Orton makes him a good coach.

Fox played conservative football with an untested, raw, near-rookie in Tebow. That was a smart thing to do. Give some credit where credit is due. You can't honor the accomplishments without the guy who made the choices for those accomplishments to occur.

I don't care about looking back at last year. Or any of Carolina's history for that matter. It's a whole new ballgame. Everyone Fox is working with is different. It wouldn't be anywhere near the first time that a coach or player has moved from one entrenched franchise to another and found success and Fox easily deserves the benefit of the doubt after a pretty remarkable start in Denver. He is no doubt amont the finalists (even though he won't win) for coach of the year, and you think he's a stop-gap that will be fired aftter the end of next season?

Unless we go 2-14, he's not going to be fired.


If he takes Fox ball and trashes it then we might stand a chance, If not the broncos are going to struggle no matter who we have on offense because its too predictable and too lame. Run run run punt, run run pass punt will never work in the NFL again as it did for him back in the early 2000s

It's too late to play the what if game. You've already predicted he will be fired. Are you hedging that?

[wayninja]

That said, who do you want as the head coach?

My wishlist includes Chaz and sneakers.

[Thnikkaman]

Yeah okay, Fox was a piss poor HC in Carolina but hes the long term answer in Denver? If John Fox has 3 winning seasons in 10 years as he did in carolina thats acceptable for you huh? lmao

While you are prognosticating, what are next weeks powerball numbers.

[VonSackemMiller]

Fox did a great job taking a 4-12 talent starved team to the 2nd round of the playoffs. I can't wait to see what he does when Elway starts to bring the talent level up. I'm guessing the same thing that he did in Carolina before the owner went on the cheap and refused to sign any decent free agents or even keep most of thier own good ones.

What good free agents did they let walk? Peppers was leaving anyway. He too was tired of Fox ball inside. Tired of losing, The owner had no problem letting him walk aslong as fox was there because the owner knew fox ball was terrible. The owner was just waiting for the wheels to fall off fox ball and as soon as it did that same owner dished out tons of cash resigning the carolina talent that was free agents so dont give me that. The owner no longer believed in John Fox and rightfully so

[Canmore]

What good free agents did they let walk? Peppers was leaving anyway. He too was tired of Fox ball inside. Tired of losing, The owner had no problem letting him walk aslong as fox was there because the owner knew fox ball was terrible. The owner was just waiting for the wheels to fall off fox ball and as soon as it did that same owner dished out tons of cash resigning the carolina talent that was free agents so dont give me that. The owner no longer believed in John Fox and rightfully so

Refresh my memory.

[Timmy!]

Number of times VSM has said "fox ball" so far in this thread:7. Fox ball.

Fox is a good coach and unless the wheels come off he will coach out his contract, minimum. As previously mentioned in the thread it will be nice to see what he can do once the talent level goes up.

[VonSackemMiller]

Refresh my memory.

With what? They resigned denagelo williams to a huge deal, there tackle, charles johnson the de got a huge deal, all of these guys got there cash once fox ball was over and out.

[Canmore]

With what? They resigned denagelo williams to a huge deal, there tackle, charles johnson the de got a huge deal, all of these guys got there cash once fox ball was over and out.

So for 43 million Williams ran for 836 yards. I don't wonder why Carolina is 6-10 even with the number one pick in the draft.

[Canmore]

Top that off with Johnson getting 9 sacks for 72 million. The way I see it they HAD to spend some money somewhere.

[camdisco24]

What good free agents did they let walk? Peppers was leaving anyway. He too was tired of Fox ball inside. Tired of losing, The owner had no problem letting him walk aslong as fox was there because the owner knew fox ball was terrible. The owner was just waiting for the wheels to fall off fox ball and as soon as it did that same owner dished out tons of cash resigning the carolina talent that was free agents so dont give me that. The owner no longer believed in John Fox and rightfully so

You obviously have little to no understanding of the situation in Carolina prior to fox being fired.

The man got screwed after his owner decided to go through a youth movement and failed horribly with it. I know for a fact John Fox was against most of the moves the Panthers front office made. He was a lame duck coach for like 3 seasons.... I don't get why they kept him around for so long. When he had the freedom make his own moves, he did just fine.

[chazoe60]

I like Fox a lot. At 1-4 I was starting to doubt the hire but the end result was very good. We're a rebuilding team and Fox got us in the playoffs and even won a game so we are ahead of schedule in my book.

I do worry about the inconsistency though. In Car he was good one year bad the next. I'm hoping next season proves that to be just a fluke.

[chazoe60]

I like Fox a lot. At 1-4 I was starting to doubt the hire but the end result was very good. We're a rebuilding team and Fox got us in the playoffs and even won a game so we are ahead of schedule in my book.

I do worry about the inconsistency though. In Car he was good one year bad the next. I'm hoping next season proves that to be just a fluke.

[VonSackemMiller]

You obviously have little to no understanding of the situation in Carolina prior to fox being fired.

The man got screwed after his owner decided to go through a youth movement and failed horribly with it. I know for a fact John Fox was against most of the moves the Panthers front office made. He was a lame duck coach for like 3 seasons.... I don't get why they kept him around for so long. When he had the freedom make his own moves, he did just fine.

Sorry ive spoken too hundreds of panther fans, They all said the same thing, Fox wanted to always play older bums like delhomme and never develope drafted players which will leave you 1-15. John Fox is simply a poor coachhis 3 winning seasons were beyond spaced out so when exactly did he stop making his own decisions? ws it 2003 or 2009? SO your sayinf after they went 12-4 and won the division (while the other teams were clearly trash in the division) the owner suddenly stripped away foxes control and went with the youth movement? Or did he strip them away after the 03 season? Your not making any sense. just another Fox ball apologist.

[VonSackemMiller]

Top that off with Johnson getting 9 sacks for 72 million. The way I see it they HAD to spend some money somewhere.

the way i see is is posters claimed the owner wouldnt spend money to even bring there own guys back, when that was a lie as you have just proven. Thanks for making my arguement complete.

[VonSackemMiller]

I like Fox a lot. At 1-4 I was starting to doubt the hire but the end result was very good. We're a rebuilding team and Fox got us in the playoffs and even won a game so we are ahead of schedule in my book.

I do worry about the inconsistency though. In Car he was good one year bad the next. I'm hoping next season proves that to be just a fluke.

Dont hang your hat on it. The Broncos will be picking top 5 next year if john fox doesnt unleash the OC and stop forcing fox ball upon us.

[Canmore]

the way i see is is posters claimed the owner wouldnt spend money to even bring there own guys back, when that was a lie as you have just proven. Thanks for making my arguement complete.

Not sure what an arguement is but after letting go of all the veterans I think the fan base was ready to start a lynch mob and management decided to spend some money. Questionable their return.

[bcbronc]

Damn, I wish Fox was more like a Harbaugh. Right sackem?

[VonSackemMiller]

Damn, I wish Fox was more like a Harbaugh. Right sackem?

Yeah did you watch the game vs the saints? Harbaugh actually OPENED it up because he knew he had to OPEN it up vs good teams and not just pound gore:tsk:

[bcbronc]

Yeah did you watch the game vs the saints? Harbaugh actually OPENED it up because he knew he had to OPEN it up vs good teams and not just pound gore:tsk:

Yeah did you watch the game vs the steelers? Fox actually OPENED it up. :rolleyes:

You said "fox ball" can't win anymore in this league, yet at least two of the four teams left play a version of "fox ball". Giants are arguably a third, but I don't feel they depend on their running game enough to really be called "fox ball".

PS, this philosophy of football has been around at least a few decades before Fox became a HC.

[VonSackemMiller]

What two teams play fox ball? the ravens play a defense, run game, screen game mainly because flacco cant get it done hes mentally weak, Cam cameron offenses has never been FOX BALL,

the niners are all about taking shots to there play makers and using them while playing defense and running the ball on pathetic teams in the nfc west.

The giants are nowhere near fox ball.

[VonSackemMiller]

And if we opened it up vs the steelers then why on earth dont we open it up all the time? If your capable of something then DO IT, That conservative fox ball will get you behind by 21-28 points FAST vs good teams so you better open it up early and often. theres no reason we cant be switch things up, A pass on first down or second down in the NFL is legal. You dont have to go run run run punt, run run pass punt, Even the Niners dont do that predictable crap. We opened it up vs the steelers and then go to NE and run run run punt, run run pass punt, same fox ball all over again and next thing you k know were down by 28 lol

[Chef Zambini]

regarding comments by players for the current coach....
ANy Player, ANY coach...
they are being quoted by a member of the media, the comments will see tyhe eyes of that coach, some assistant is going to highlight the comments for the coaches review...
WTF else is a player gonna say?
any coach, any player.
as someone so astutley pointed out, we never heard a bad word about JMCD, while he was here now did we/
Lots of praise, NO harsh words of reality!
JMCD let them eat pizza in the losing locker-room, he was a players coach, for sure.

[camdisco24]

Sorry ive spoken too hundreds of panther fans, They all said the same thing, Fox wanted to always play older bums like delhomme and never develope drafted players which will leave you 1-15. John Fox is simply a poor coachhis 3 winning seasons were beyond spaced out so when exactly did he stop making his own decisions? ws it 2003 or 2009? SO your sayinf after they went 12-4 and won the division (while the other teams were clearly trash in the division) the owner suddenly stripped away foxes control and went with the youth movement? Or did he strip them away after the 03 season? Your not making any sense. just another Fox ball apologist.

Sorry but I live in Panther country.... I don't care how many you have talked to, the majority here (you know, where the panthers play) agree that John Fox was tied down his last 3-4 seasons. While some of his winning seasons were spread out, he did a lot with a little during his time at Carolina, if you take the time to look at the big picture, you'll see that.

I'm not a Fox apologist, I've just taken the time to look at the facts. John Fox is a good coach, who knows if he's the answer here... The fact of the matter is, he took a 4-12 team (going no where) to 8-8 and a playsoffs win. How anyone could complain about that is beyond me.

[Nomad]

Just curious, Cam, how was Fox tied down? Fox should get his chance to prove or disprove he can be a good/great coach here.

[camdisco24]

He had to run every decision through the front office, toward the end of his time in Carolina almost all of his ideas or decisions were shot down. He was prepared to rejuvenate the Panthers through veteran contracts and freee agency, but the front office simply didnt want to spend any money.

One example of a move John Fox was forced to make... drafting Armani Edwards. Ended up being a huge waste of a draft pick and went again his style of drafting. Just one very small example of how the front office had their hand in the coaches office a little too much. Hopefully they have learned from their mistakes....

[tomjonesrocks]

Fox was a smart hire considering McDaniels ruined any chance of a bigger name coach coming here, and the fact we weren't going to pay a big name anyway.

Whether ultimately Shanahan to Fox is an upgrade I'm quite unsure in hindsight--and I tend to agree once the team has been rebuilt to a reasonable talent level a different coach may be needed to really compete in playoff games. But Fox has turned out better than expected IMO and is a LOT more flexible than I thought he was. Considering Elway had to hire someone respected and actually willing to come to the pile of shit McDaniels left and not get a loot of cash to do it, he did very, very well.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

He had to run every decision through the front office, toward the end of his time in Carolina almost all of his ideas or decisions were shot down. He was prepared to rejuvenate the Panthers through veteran contracts and freee agency, but the front office simply didnt want to spend any money.

One example of a move John Fox was forced to make... drafting Armani Edwards. Ended up being a huge waste of a draft pick and went again his style of drafting. Just one very small example of how the front office had their hand in the coaches office a little too much. Hopefully they have learned from their mistakes....

Great points cam, and to add to what you said:

from article:


He entered the last year of his deal this fall after the Panthers began a youth movement that's left them an NFL-worst 2-13 and the league's worst offense, but they will have the No. 1 overall draft pick in April.

A rift had developed between Richardson and Fox since Carolina's 33-13 loss to Arizona in the team's last playoff game in January 2009. Fox was more vocal this season in showing displeasure for several personnel moves that left the Panthers short on experience and talent.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5975190

[TXBRONC]

Stop gap hire. John Fox will be fired in another year.

When did you start working for the front office?

[Lancane]

I was actually against Fox's hiring, but I'm willing to give him more time at this point, I certainly won't state he's a stopgap when he's forced to run a dysfunctional collegiate offense due to certain factors, and we can not really get a measure of him as the head coach just yet. And there is a lot to like about the man, the only issue I have is the same that many Carolina fans did and that's his conservative offensive philosophy. At this point I'm hoping that we'll look more like a professional football team (offensively) next season rather then the mediocre pun we were this past season.

I'm more worried about McCoy remaining then Fox that's for sure...

[bcbronc]

What two teams play fox ball? the ravens play a defense, run game, screen game mainly because flacco cant get it done hes mentally weak, Cam cameron offenses has never been FOX BALL,

the niners are all about taking shots to there play makers and using them while playing defense and running the ball on pathetic teams in the nfc west.

The giants are nowhere near fox ball.

So fox ball is just whatever you say it is then? Baltimore, San Fran and Denver all play a game that relies on minimizing mistakes on offense, winning field position with special teams, and having strong defenses (obviously Denver still working towards that).

Baltimore is looking to transition like Pitt did from a run/defense team to one that can win with it's offense. Their defense is getting older and they've got some young talent on offense. But so far, when they've gone too far away from Rice, they've struggled.

Niners have more playmakers on offense. Fox, as good coaches do, plays to the realities of his teams' strengths and weaknesses. You're mistaking a difference in talent level for some drastically different philosophy.

In Delhomme's best season in Carolina, he attempted 533 passes, not including sacks. He threw 15 picks. Next season, ~100 less pass attempts, and 16 picks. Fox had a QB throwing interceptions, so he scaled back the offense, like most good coaches do. Unfortunately for Fox, that was the real Delhomme and 2004 an illusion.

Fox finds ways to win with subpar to average QBing. The one year he had a QB playing at a high level, he came within a field goal of winning the Superbowl.

[Timmy!]

Vsm fox ball count:15. Fox ball.