Here are some things Bronco’s Head Coach John Fox should not do while he is coach of the Denver Broncos. He should not buy a house in Cherry Hills or open a steakhouse in Greenwood Village. He should not go see a stage production of “Our American Cousin,” or ride in the back of a Lincoln convertible through any part of Denver with the word “Plaza” in its name. As far as Denver Broncos’ fans are concerned, John Fox has left the building.
Yes, John Fox is a short-timer now as head coach not just because he is demonstrating to every Bronco fan that he doesn’t get it here in Denver, doesn’t understand what he’s up against with rebuilding and the expectations of the Denver fans, but also because he’s become a company man, a coach that will play the political part and read the script he’s been given. John Fox, Head Coach of the Denver Broncos, needs to come out publicly as his own man and start giving everyone hell; the Denver Bronco’s defense, the Denver Bronco’s offense, the Denver Bronco’s front office, and the Denver Bronco’s owner. John Fox needs to take preemptive coaching and public relations steps to deal with every angle of the “start Tim Tebow!” pressure coming from the fans. Were he to do so, he could show everyone that this Denver Bronco team is HIS team and everyone needs to back off. Win or lose, this take charge coaching style would win him respect and buy him some time when rebuilding time is badly needed. But John Fox won’t do any such thing and that is why John Fox will perform badly in Denver, invite the wrath of the fans, and get himself fired in short order.
The Denver Bronco offense is ranked 24th in the NFL. The Denver Bronco defense is ranked 23rd in the NFL. Basically, you have poor performance parity on both sides of the ball and yet media and fan pressure seem to want to quick fix the offense. The Bronco defense had multiple breakdowns against the Packers. When taken to task, the defense offers up excuses such as injuries and that they need time to get in sync when everyone is healthy. Maybe that’s true but what is undeniably true is that the defense does not play its side of the ball and their failures spill over to the offensive side of the ball. You saw the Green Bay game, the defense is as much of a problem as the offense. A good head coach would address all problems inside and outside the team locker room today, accept full responsibility for the team’s failings today, take swift and decisive action to correct team problems on both offense and defense today. Instead, Kyle Orton mans up and shoulders blame himself week in week out. Can you imagine Mike Ditka tolerating this kind of mess in the ineffective and halfbaked John Fox style?
The best way to look at the current Denver Broncos are to look at things this way. As we enter week six the Denver Broncos are 1-4. This sorry record places them in the sorry company of these AFC teams: Dolphins 0-4, the Jaguars 1-3, the Manning-less Colts 0-4, Chiefs 1-3. So, is this improvement from last season? Is this any better than McDaniels could have done? The answers are no and no. So what is John Fox doing here in Denver? Is he being tasked with cleaning up McDaniel’s mess or is he being set up to be the fall guy for a totally dysfunctional NFL franchise? In either role John Fox will be fired eventually, possibly sooner rather than later depending on fan pressure. In five short weeks John Fox has so politically mismanaged his coaching career in Denver that his entire professional role has been narrowed to one coaching function: when to start Tim Tebow.
Here’s what John Fox as Denver Bronco Head Coach needs to do heading into week six. If necessary, for the good of the team, admit publicly that the decision to start Tebow is not his but the Bronco’s front office and that it has been that way since his first day on the job. If true, Fox needs to wash his hands of the whole pressurized Tebow controversy and become his own man to coach in whatever fashion he deems professionally best. If Tebow isn’t starting quarterback material, Fox needs to integrate Tebow into the offense in stunt packages throughout entire games not in just one-off plays. Or, Fox needs to make The Decision: go all in and start Tim Tebow for the remainder of the season. But, if he makes that decision, it has to be because he thinks he can win with Tebow not because it may keep butts in stadium seats. Let Tim Tebow sink or swim as Kyle Orton has to every game, no excuses, no wait until next year. John Fox can either go out like a coach who inherited a nightmare team but tried his gutsy best to make the hard decisions, or he can go out like he went out in Carolina: disliked, maligned, and as a failure.
Denver Bronco Head Coach John Fox has ultimately sealed his fate by taking half measures all season long. It is as if he has no analytical abilities to look at this Denver Bronco team and the current situation it’s in and make enlightened decisions. This makes him appear to be either an ineffective coach or a front office puppet. Either way, John Fox is placating neither his political masters nor winning the hearts and minds of Denver’s football fans. It’s like that Tom Petty song. You can come out swingin’ like Sonny Liston or you can come out swingin’ like Sammy Davis. As Denver’s Head Coach John Fox is no heavyweight, he’s a song and dance man.
(Check out my 2011 Season Predictions post regarding the Denver/Green Bay game).
Oh. You have a coach that has the problem of having the front office dictate his on field decisions? An aging owner that is calling the shots and trying to return to his former days of glory? Fantastic. The Broncos have now turned into the Raiders. Now you know what we have been dealing with forever. Boy, and yes, I refer to you as “Boy” get ready for years of mediocrity and frustration. There are very few good coaches on the market. They have all become “managers and mouthpieces.”
The best coach I believe the Broncos could try and woo right now would be…wait for it…wait for it…ex-Raider’s coach John Gruden. That ol boy knows the AFC and how to clean up a sloppy mess of a team like Denver.
But as you correctly point out, Gruden is a television mouthpiece and has no interest. Not to mention the poverty afflicted Pat Bowlen couldn’t begin to afford him.
Hey! What about Scott Hamilton! OOhhh, I could see the new uniforms already!