It's rare that a team has a coach come in, go 46-18 and win four division titles in four seasons with a Super Bowl appearance and then lets him walk, but the Denver Broncos want to win now.
And, apparently, John Fox took the fall for the failure to bring home a Lombardi Trophy.
The wording of the reports, first from Fox Sports' Jay Glazer and ESPN's Adam Schefter, is that Fox and the Broncos decided to part ways. No matter how you put it, Fox is a free agent after meeting with Broncos general manager John Elway on Monday, and the Broncos need a new head coach. Maybe Fox wants to coach elsewhere (the San Francisco 49ers are already being speculated as a good fit), but it doesn't happen unless the Broncos were ready to move on as well. After the Broncos lost their playoff opener to the Colts 24-13, apparently they felt a change was needed.
"John Fox and I met for more than an hour on Monday afternoon to discuss the 2014 season and our goals for the future," Elway said in a statement. "During our open and candid conversation, it became clear that it was best for both the Denver Broncos and Coach Fox to move on and make this change.
"While we have made significant progress under Coach Fox, there is still work to be done. I believe this change at the head coaching position will be in the best interest of our long-term goal, which from day one has been to win World Championships."
It was a big change. According to mulitple reports, including NFL Network's Jeff Darlington, assistant coaches were told the next head coach would decide if they'd be retained, and they had permission to look elsewhere. Basically, they are free to go, although they still are under contract with Denver. That includes offensive coordinator Adam Gase and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, who have been interviewed for other head-coaching jobs.
The Broncos have some major questions coming up, including the status of quarterback Peyton Manning, who couldn't commit to playing next season after the playoff loss and might be in decline as he enters his age 39 season anyway. But the Broncos will definitely be moving on without Fox, who guided a very good run.
The Broncos won a division title with Tim Tebow at quarterback, then was the AFC's No. 1 seed in back-to-back years and the No. 2 seed this year. The 2012 and 2014 seasons, however, ended with disappointing playoff losses in the divisional round. Even an AFC championship at the end of the 2013 season was overshadowed by an ugly 43-8 loss to the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
"I had a productive visit with John Elway this afternoon in which we were both very honest about our time together and how to best move forward," Fox said in a statement. "After this discussion, John and I mutually agreed that the timing was right for this decision.
“Although we came up short of our ultimate goal, I am proud of our team’s many accomplishments during these last four years. I truly appreciate all of the hard work put in by every player, coach and staff member within this organization." A lot will be changing for the Broncos this offseason. Starting with the head coach.
No comments:
Post a Comment