PARTY? HARDLY
Fox hasn’t lost team, but he has had few things to celebrate
Two years ago, the Bears ruined Brett Favre Night at Lambeau Field before a national audience on Thanksgiving. And then they partied.
The visiting locker room morphed into a dance hall, and coach John Fox was the main attraction. Fox danced with his players to rapper Young Jeezy’s “Win.” Some players said they saw him “dab,” too.
The hoopla was captured and shared on social media by players, including former Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, linebacker Christian Jones and wide receiver/ special- teamer Josh Bellamy.
It was an emotional 17- 13 victory against quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Players had every right to be jubilant. They felt insulted that they were chosen for what they called Favre’s “homecoming.”
The Bears improved to 5- 6 that night, and they did it with Jay Cutler still at quarterback and maligned linebacker Shea McClellin handling the defensive calls.
So much has changed since then.
It wasn’t the statement victory many inside and outside Halas Hall thought it was. It turned out to be an indictment. Two years later, it remains the one true highlight of Fox’s Bears tenure.
The Bears lost three games in a row after that night, including
an overtime loss to the Blaine Gabbert- led 49ers the next week at Soldier Field. The Bears also haven’t beaten the Packers since then.
With seven games left in his third season in charge of the Bears, Fox is fully under the microscope now.
It’s true that he hasn’t lost the locker room. But no one is dancing, either.
“He’s still positive,” said Bellamy, the DJ of the Bears’ Thanksgiving party at Lambeau Field. “He’s always trying to find an edge to try to win. He’s not going to back down. That’s what you want from a head coach. . . . It’s rough right now, but, hey, he’s still doing everything he can to go get a ‘ W.’ ”
There are reasons why wins have been scarce for Fox. Injuries ravaged his team this season and last. General manager Ryan Pace also completely overhauled the roster. And the Bears have gone from Cutler to Mike Glennon to second overall pick Mitch Trubisky at quarterback.
But excuses should never outnumber victories. Trubisky’s growing pains don’t always have to be painful. The Bears should’ve beaten Gabbert and the 49ers two seasons ago just like they should’ve taken it to the Packers and backup quarterback Brett Hundley last week.
The Bears are good enough to beat Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford — they’ve already beaten the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger and the Panthers’ Cam Newton — but erratic enough to lose to Hundley at home.
After losing to Hundley, Fox delivered this message at the podium: “Like a lot of games this season, we’ve been in the thick of things until the end and just came up a little short. That’s what I told the team.”
It’s a familiar refrain from Fox after narrow defeats. Staying in games runs its course, though. It’s not an indication of success. It does summarize the Bears: close but not quite good enough to win.
When that’s the case, the coaching must be evaluated. Under Fox, the Bears have lost at home to Gabbert, Hundley, Brock Osweiler, Blake Bortles, Case Keenum and Carson Wentz in his second career start.
“Coach Fox is coach Fox,” Bellamy said. “He’s giving everything he’s got. It’s on the players. He’s not going out there playing the game. He’s just the coach. It’s on the players to change everything. You can’t point the finger in the direction of coach Fox.”
In other words, Fox is under fire, and the players know it.
“I know what it’s like when the outside’s turning on you on the inside,” guard Kyle Long said. “You’ve got to just kind of circle the wagons. That’s kind of the spot we’ve been in the last few years, unfortunately.”
Players have seven games to change that for Fox.
“Any coach would take heat,” said Bellamy, who is close to Fox. “It doesn’t matter who it is. If it was Bill Belichick and his team was losing or whatever, they’d be talking about him. It’s the game. You got to find somebody to blame.
“Everybody knows that coach Fox is a hell of a coach. He’s a wonderful coach. He’s been to the Super Bowl. He’s had Super Bowl teams. He’s had playoff teams. You can’t question him because his résumé speaks for itself.” It did in 2015. In a way, Fox already has served his purpose. He helped clean up a dysfunctional mess. The locker room is a better place today than at the end of the Marc Trestman era. But the dance parties in Fox’s locker room have been few and far between.
Follow me on Twitter @ adamjahns.