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Published on 12/07/2011 at Wed Dec 07 11:48.
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Rick Reilly: The genius of John Fox

Posted Wed Dec 7th by

Denver Broncos head coach John Fox talks to Tim Tebow during the second half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday, Dec. 4, 2011, in Minneapolis. The Broncos won 35-32. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

For all the accolades and attention Tim Tebow is generating for the Denver Broncos‘ turnaround, one person is getting decidedly inadequate acclaim.

That man would be head coach John Fox. ESPN’s Rick Reilly gives the coach his due in his latest column.

“This whole thing has been so fun,” says Fox’s wife, Robin, an in-demand jewelry designer in her own right. “The snow in Colorado, the holidays coming up, everybody wanting to talk about Tebow. We’re loving this.”

What they should be talking about is how her husband took a team that was steaming wreckage when Josh McDaniels was fired exactly a year ago this week and has them in the playoff hunt. They should be talking about a coach who wins with Tebow running it 22 times in one game (versus the Chargers) and only four in another (Vikings). They should be talking about a coach who’s made it fun to be a Bronco — and a Broncos fan — again.

Reilly’s right. We haven’t talked about John Fox enough. Kudos to Reilly for wording a far better column than we ever could have, anyway.

Fox has Broncos in the hunt [ESPN]

  • Anonymous

    I have to agree whole-heartedly. The guy has taken what he has and made things work within those means. It hasn’t been flashy and probably down right boring if you’re not a Bronco fan, but it produces wins and nothing is more beautiful than that if you are a fan!

  • Brad

    I’d give Fox more credit if he really did put Tebow in positions to succeed as a passer, i.e. first and second downs, screen passes, etc..  Instead, they only throw on third and longs and long bombs.  Take the viking game.  One of the worst secondarys in football and all the broncs do in the first half is run the ball.  no points, no first downs.  And yet, somehow, that’s tebows fault?  When they actually put the ball in the air against teh horrible secondary, they went up and down teh field.  Same as wtih all of the other fourth quarter comebacks.  All game long, they run all three downs, then when they no longer have time to do that, tehy let tim throw.  What do you know, success.

  • http://ehalseymiles.com E. Halsey Miles

    We ran 17 plays in the first half. Tebow went 4/6 passing and we had 11 rushes for a total of 35 yards. We were 1/5 on third down. 

    We had 3 possessions in the 1st quarter. We had a safety, a 3 and out, and a fumble.

    We had 4 possessions in the 2nd quarter, (the first one was mostly in the 1st quarter).

    The first possession started on a solid run for 7, another run for 1, and a Tebow scramble on 3rd and 2 that didn’t make the first down but I would’ve made the same call.

    The second possession was basically killed by 2 penalties. It ended on a 3rd and 9 where Tebow passed for 7. 

    The third possession was failed rush, a sack, a pass for 8 when 19 was needed.

    The fourth possession ended in a fumble after only 2 plays.

    The reason we sucked in the first half is that we had 1 safety and 2 fumbles, which basically killed 3 drives in a terrible way. It had very little to do with the run/pass ratio. We did not “just run” all three downs. There were fairly limited opportunities, and on one of the 3 and outs, it was a 3rd and 2 which we absolutely should have been able to make on a rushing play.
    No offense but when you’re going to talk about how the game went, I advise actually looking at the transcript and making sure that you’re talking about the game that was played on the field.

  • Anonymous

    Meh.  The inimitable Mr. Miles is right, but most of all– I get that Fox is conservative, etc., but he obviously has figured something out, so who the hell cares?  Can we really be dissatisfied with the way he’s handled Tebow when we’re WINNING WITH HIM? 

  • Anonymous

    I had hoped for one principal thing when we got rid of Shanny (in that long-ago time which seems like several lifetimes past, but was really only about 3 years): change the frustrating dynamic of getting off to a decent start, then totally collapsing.  Shanny’s distinctive pattern held true throughout the post-Elway era, mostly (I know, there were exceptions), and has held true with Chainsaw Dan in D.C.  McDaniels, obviously, took that pattern to new, previously unimagined, season-spanning heights. 
    Watching the Broncos is FUN again, because each week, I’m really not sure what to expect.  I have real FAITH that we could win each week again, real hope that– holy crap, I can say it– we might just win the AFC West after all.  Even if we don’t do it this year, I’m happy to be a fan again, rather than miserable.  So, John Fox: my wife thanks you, and wishes to notify the organization that she has issued a reprieve on her threatened “Stop watching the Broncos, it’s going to kill you” mandate, which had become our own little unhappy annual tradition. 

  • Tom9798

    Great inside-stuff from Reilly . . . thank’s for the post!

  • Kellyleephipps

    Fox is an Aquarius, the astrological sign of the Cosmic Genius…he is friendly, humanitarian and shocking…all Aquarius traits!

    Just wrote an article here about how “The Stars Align for Tebow & Broncos”:

    http://www.milehighreport.com/2011/12/6/2617344/the-stars-align-for-tebows-broncos

  • Gradishar53

    Fox’s success only highlights what a complete douchebag McDaniels is…  McD has this arrogant system where he tries to jam players into it, while Fox respects the player and his talent and works to get the best from them.  No one wants to feel like a replaceable cog in an impersonal machine (ie the McD way).  Everyone wants to be valued for their unique talents and have leaders who can get the best from them (ie the Fox way).  Fox and Tebow could be a match made in heaven.  Elway needs to get on board!

  • Anonymous

    :-)… Nice post! Fun to read and I agree. Its nice to not wonder “is this where we toss it away!”

  • Anonymous

    LOL… Like your spirit but Zodiac is hog-wash… ;-)

  • Tjkempf

    the same fox who demoted tebow to 3rd string?the billboards/fans goy tebow in game

  • http://broncotalk.net Monty

    You’re right, the genius struck after the Detroit loss. Fox went from half-changing the offense to an all out option look. I maintain that very, very few coaches would have done that.

  • Theprairieprankster

    We are on a roll and it is really fun to be in the playoff hunt. I figured we’d be lucky to win 6, glad I was wrong. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, May This Fesitivus Be Festive and May Your Kwanza Be Cool!

  • TeeItUP

    Fox put Tebow in to shut the fans up, not cause he thought he could handle it… it was an “ok fans… i put him in, he failed now let’s get back to Orton” move .  Tim proved him wrong and now Fox can’t take him out even if he wanted to.  Way to go Tebow!  It’D crack me up if Tebow decided to go somewhere else next year because Denver coaching staff and owners didn’t have confidence in him.  The team likes and respects him, he gives them a reason to believe, the majority of Denver fans LOVE him.  GO TIMMY and GO Broncos.

  • Davidl413

    I’ve always enjoyed Reilly, but he’s full of it on this one. He right to give Fox credit, but he’s been bashing Tim Tebow for much of the past year. Reilly basically said the Broncos were definitely tanking and in on the “suck for Luck” sweepstakes because they switched to Tebow. To say Fox deserves credit is certainly accurate, but the Broncos turned around when Fox made the choice to go with Tebow, a decision mocked by Reilly.  

  • Carlos_tiffer

    Where was Fox when 1-4, where was his magic ????? Tebow is changing Broncos History, Before Tebow and After Tebow. GB2

  • mattbretz@msn.com

    If Fox is a genius, then why didn’t he get done with Kyle Orton,

    Reily is just mad that all TT does is win. Man I hate to see him when

    the Broncos get eliminated in the AFC Championship game he’ll

    be the first of 90 percent of the media to tell you I told you so.