Anybody with eyes can see that John Fox is coaching for his job in 2017. GM Ryan Pace has said the team is focused on the long-term. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s hard to sell Fox being part of it. Pace himself hasn’t even cracked 40-years old yet. Most of his team is quite young as well. Fox is not. He’s 62-years old and shows no signs of getting things pointed in the right direction. How much longer can they justify him staying Bears head coach?
His first season resulted in a 5-11 record and last year was even worse at 3-13. It’s true that Fox has endured rebuilds in the past, but this might be the most demanding of his career. One that his aging body and mind might not be able to handle. Then there’s the fact that expectations have changed over the past few months.
Now the team is focused on getting the quarterback position fixed. New rookie first round pick Mitch Trubisky looks like he could be a franchise guy. Doing everything possible to make him a success is top priority. This is something Fox has never done in his entire career and may be his downfall.
Next Bears head coach may be coming to town soon
If that’s the case then the next hire certainly should be somebody who knows how to develop a quarterback. One name that nobody expected to make that list was Bob Stoops. The legendary Oklahoma head coach seemed like he was in no danger of losing his job. Then almost out of nowhere he decided to retire.
Aside from the shock of the decision, it also created a new scenario that is sure to gain steam in the months to come. The Chicago Sun-Times alluded to it.
“Bob Stoops has decided to retire as Oklahoma’s football coach after 18 seasons that included the 2000 national championship and 10 Big 12 Conference titles.
Stoops says the time is right to conclude his run in charge of the Sooners. The 56-year-old Stoops is a sure bet for the Hall of Fame.
There is a Chicago connection for Stoops.
Stoops and his wife own two Gold Coast homes; the second, a row house, was purchased in April. While some might try to link that Chicago connection to a potential future Bears job opening — John Fox is under pressure to improve in his third season — it’s possible Stoops is intent on leaving the game for good.”
Now that’s quite the twist. Stoops has a longstanding reputation for producing some top notch offenses during his time at Oklahoma. Last year they ranked third overall in total offense. Since 2004 the Sooners have ranked in the top 10 in that category seven times. During that span he’s produced some excellent running backs including DeMarco Murray and Adrian Peterson. Imagine what he might do for Jordan Howard.
So what about the quarterbacks?
Naturally the question will come to the biggest point. Would Stoops be good for Mitch Trubisky? Well it can be said for certain that the coach has brought a lot of quarterbacks to success at Oklahoma. His biggest was Sam Bradford, the 2008 Heisman trophy winner and #1 overall pick in the 2010 draft. There was also Landry Jones, selected in the fourth round by Pittsburgh in 2013. Most recently is Baker Mayfield, who has put up some pretty ridiculous numbers the past couple seasons.
This includes 76 touchdown passes in the past two seasons. Watching that highlight reel it’s also apparent that Stoops likes to run an offensive system built out of the shotgun. This would be hugely important given that’s the type of offense Trubisky ran at North Carolina. He’d understand the intricacies and nuances almost immediately.
The Bears also have the sort of quick and fast receiver to fit the system as well with guys like Markus Wheaton, Victor Cruz, and Kendall Wright. Would Stoops consider a move to the NFL after skipping so many opportunities to make the jump in years past? It’s a fair question. He’s not too old by coaching standards but he may just be burnt out. Such things happen when being at the same job for so many years.
Then again a year off may be just what he needs to get the juices flowing again. After all, he wouldn’t be the first hugely successful college football coach to join the NFL late in his career and start winning. Pete Carroll proved it’s very possible. If nothing else this is another intriguing name to watch if and when Fox gets canned next year.
