Fox happy with newdeal
Varlamov most valuable net asset for Roy’s Avs Broncos coach signed through 2016 season
If Avalanche coach Patrick Roy promises to get Semyon Varlamov a trophy, is there a chance Colorado’s 25year-old goalie will stop taking an eraser to Roy’s name in the team’s record book?
“He’s giving us a chance to win, but it’s more now than just a chance to win. He’s a difference-maker right now. He’s pretty impressive,” Roy volunteered late one night last week, after yet another spectacular performance by Varlamov. “In my opinion right now, he should be a candidate for the Hart Trophy. That’s as high as I think of him right now.”
Somebody help me out here: Does Roy serve as Varlamov’s coach or his campaign manager? Of late, Roy has stumped for Varly on behalf on the Vezina Trophy as best goaltender in the NHL and the HartMemorial Trophy, given to the league’s most valuable player. Any day now, I expect Roy to begin promoting Varlamov for the Nobel Prize.
The truth is: Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby is the odds-on favorite to win MVP. And Tuukka Rask of Boston is the goalie to beat for the Vezina. In all likelihood, Varlamov will be shut out when the league hands out trophies.
With a 4-0 shutout of St. Louis on Saturday that led Colorado to a crucial road victory, however, Varlamov won for the 40th time this season, tying a record owned by Roy. It was a chippy game that escalated to the level of lingering animosity when David Backes of the Blues jumped Avs rookie Nathan MacKinnon in the third period. If St. Louis and Colorado meet in the playoffs, there will be blood.
As a player, Roy did not respond to questions so much as he set the agenda. Nobody plays the mind game better than Roy.
In the playoffs, Roy the goaltender wanted to get inside the head of his foe.
As a coach, Roy is working the room again, and the idea he’s selling is both crystal clear and absolutely audacious:
No team in the league has a better man between the pipes than Varly.
Readers talk and columnist Mark Kiszla responds
Ashis contract extensionwas laboring through negotiations, Broncos coach John Fox was preparing himself for aworst-case scenario.
The worst case for any NFL head coach is to lead as a lame duck. That is the term used when a coach has only one year left on his contract.
Players tend to not fully listen in that situation, knowing their coach is on the hot seat.
There will be no such distraction for the 2014 Broncos. Foxwill not be a lame duck this season, because the Broncos tore up the final year of his initial contract and gave him a new three-year deal that runs through the 2016 season.
“That’s never easy,” Fox said Saturdaymorning. “I’ve done it before (with Carolina in 2010). I was prepared, but that’s not something you’d like to do. This is the ultimate good thing to happen. I think it’s a good deal all theway around.
“There’s a personal side to this too. My wife and I love it here. Shoot, my boys don’t even live here and they love it here. We’ve got great fans. I love working for Pat Bowlen. John Elway is a great boss. It’s a great organization. All of that plays a part in it.
“Now, that’s all good and dandy but, shoot, we’ve still got work to do. We’ve made some progress, but we haven’t reached our ultimate goal yet and that’s a world championship.”
Fox, 59, is going on his 13th season as an NFL head coach. His first 10 were spent trying to win without an elite quarterback, meaning no disrespect to the overachieving Jake Delhomme and Tim Tebow.
For going on his third season, Fox’s quarterback will be Peyton Manning. He’d much prefer it this way, although there can be a thankless aspect to having such an elite quarterback.
“Sure the expectations are high,” Fox said. “That comes with the territory. You understand the criticism. There’s three sets of hats. We’ve won the division hat every year for three. We’ve won one conference hat. Nowwewant to win the world championship hat. We haven’t done that yet. That’s our goal.”
When Fox was hired by the Broncos in 2011, he inherited a teamcoming off a 4-12 season. The team has improved each year. With Tebow at quarterback, the Broncos won the AFCWest and a first-round playoff game in 2011.
In 2012, Fox’s first year withManning, the Broncos went 13-3 and earned theAFC’sNo. 1 playoff seed. But they lost a heartbreaking postseason game to Baltimore.
In 2013, the Broncos again went 13-3 with aNo. 1 seed, but this time won two playoff games to advance to the Super Bowl. Whereupon the team got trounced by Seattle.
Good as the Broncos have been in their three seasons with Fox in charge, they have yet to win it all.
Manning has one Super Bowl championship, but that was with Indianapolis in 2006. To get one with the Broncos in 2014, Manning and Fox should have a more balanced team to work with. The defense picked up three Pro Bowlers through free agency in DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward.
“The challenge for us — I’m talking about everyone in the building, whether it’s assistant coaches, personnel — is the personality of your team changes every year,” Fox said.“We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”