John Fox and Broncos mutually part ways after four years

Posted by Darin Gantt on January 12, 2015, 5:18 PM EST

That escalated quickly.

A day after losing in the playoffs, the Broncos are now looking for a head coach.

According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Fox and the Broncos have agreed to mutually part ways.

This move seemed like it was coming with the reports and counter-reports about his future there, and how it related to the future of quarterback Peyton Manning.

Now, he’ll rocket to the top of the lists for teams looking for head coaches, and Chicago and Atlanta figure to be of particular interest to him.

Fox went 46-18 in four years with the Broncos, after a 73-71 stint with the Panthers.

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122 responses to “John Fox and Broncos mutually part ways after four years”

  5. I just wonder if John Fox was tired of being overruled by Peyton Manning and being held responsible for the outcomes. Just wondering…

  6. i like fox, he won a division/playoff game with TEBOW…nobody can do that, besides evil Bill. maybe fox will go to atlanta. he can turn them around just like he did previously with carolina/denver.

  9. i could go 46-18 in Denver w/ Peyton as the qb…
    There is a reason he is being let go. And why he was fired in Carolina. He’s a good coach, but not a great coach… even w/ Peyton.

  11. As a Browns fan I’m wondering how a coach with a 46-18 record, playoffs yearly and a super bowl appearance can be let go. With that said I like Mike Pettine and I can only hope he gets 4 years.

  24. Good riddance. Fox is just good enough to get you beat.

    You think John Elway would have taken a knee, on Foxes order, like Payton did, in the 2012 Ravens game? I don’t and I would have fired Fox then and there.

  25. Bears fans everywhere are begging you to come to Chicago. We need a coach with previous NFL experience like Fox and hes proven himself to be a winner, even though he had some of the best talent in the league

  27. Which also means Jack Del Rio is going to become a top candidate for DC as well as head coach.

  28. I don’t understand it, there are so many teams that are struggling to find a coach that give them a winning team and you have 2 teams that have been to the SB in the last 3 years parting with their coaches.

    That is a level of arrogance with either the front office or owners.

    Those coaches are hard to come by. Maybe they should think before they get ahead of themselves.

  29. Fox is an average headcoach at best and doesn’t deserve to be of any high demand. His record with Carolina is more indictative of his abilities. Anyone with any football background could’ve had a winning record with a star-studded team in Denver. If anything, his failure to win a SB in Denver (including two one and done’s in the last 3 years) carries more weight than his overall winning percentage in a very weak division.

  32. Wow good coaches are hard to find I know I’m a raider fan last great coach we had was Guden I thought Cable did a good job but he knocked out a fellow employee and yes Hugh J was a good coach just don’t let him be GM and coach terable trade for Palmer a second round pick should have been it . We missed out on the chance to draft JJ watt that year Cin had our pick ..

  34. Wow, thought it would be Tuesday before Elway made this move. I like it. Fox had three great opportunities to bring a title to Denver & couldn’t do it.

  36. And now, the Broncos start to look at being mediocre for the next decade…again. Not like Fox was the future, but this won’t help matters much when Manning retires.

  38. smithdp says:
    Jan 12, 2015 5:27 PM
    They may be trying to hang on to their OC Adam Gase who is going to be a head coach soon, somewhere.
    ————————————-
    Good point. And promoting Gase to HC might be their only chance at luring Peyton back for another season at this point. Provided they want him back, but they would be stupid not to.

  40. Should have been fired after kneeling the ball with 30 seconds left and two timeouts after the Ravens tied the game in the divisional round two years ago. Worst coaching decision I think I’ve ever seen.

  42. Fox washed out of the playoffs and lost not one but two Super Bowls, so theoretically, he should be as in-demand (if not more) as Jim Harbaugh and have college teams beating down his door to hire him.

  44. I don’t understand why teams want to go with these old coaches who only had success with HOF QBs (like Fox and Shanahan). They shouldn’t be at the top of anyone’s list. If you want someone from DEN then try Adam Gase. He’s young, probably hungry, and maybe learned something from Peyton while serving as his OC.

  45. Denver has a major problem now, in regards to getting a HC. Who would want that job with a QB who run the show if he comes back and if he doesn’t come back who the hell is the QB? Lots of free agents cap issues, not a very attractive opening 1 year after a SB appearance.

  47. He made the playoffs all 4 years and won a playoff game with Tebow.

    Even then this is the right move. Falcons seems like a good fit for his next job.

  49. Coached two different franchises to the Super Bowl…. That’s a darn good coach, I don’t care what you say…

  50. Gase to HC, Manning to OC. You heard it here first.

    Maybe that why Manning was tentative about coming back next year. Unhappy with play calls/game plans last month or so.

  57. Look at the QBs he had in Carolina before anyone trashes his record, just saying. He’s not a great coach, but I’d hire him before I hired Marrone or anyone named Shanahan.

  68. That might make the best hc job in the NFL right now. Wonder if Rex Ryan back out of deal with the Bills for this job? LOL. He not have to even touch offense. and defense could be really scary with him running it.

    Nah

  69. Jan 12, 2015 5:20 PM – grimreaper12 says: i like fox, he won a division/playoff game with TEBOW…
    ————————————————-
    Tebow didn’t win that game because of Fox, he won it in spite of Fox.

  70. I love how all these people always want to add a qualifier to a coach’s record. “Yeah, but he had Manning”. So what, he also took a team to the Super Bowl with Jake Delhomme at QB. Fox is a good coach.

  72. As a Bronco fan I can say that Foxy wasn’t the type of killer coach we need, even before Manning. he’s too conservative for an explosive team. We need someone that will step on your neck and keep the peddle firmly planted to the floor. In comes Cowher or don’t be surprised if John coxes away Gary Kubiack from the Ravens.

  73. Fox is a good coach, he’s established and has a winning record…however, having typed that, please remember that Peyton Manning doesn’t come with the hire, even banged up old Peyton Manning, so it might not be such an automatic that Fox is at the top of the list of available coaches.

  75. Somehow I can see him coming to Chicago and taking them to 2 or 3 seasons of 8-8 before he gets canned and everyone saying he sucks but really it was the the Bears lack of talent.

  78. What a douche move by the Broncos!!!

    They put all their eggs in peyton Manning’s basket and let Peyton prove that he’s a coach killer???

    They fired the wrong guy and they’ll regret this move as long as they don’t replace the QB.

    John Fox is a good coach!!!

    If I were him, I’d raid the defensive staff away and make that team worse.

    In fact, I’d go to oakland and stick it to Denver. Elway deserves it!!!

  80. Fox was brought in as a stabilizing presence after the McHoody fiasco and now the team needs a visionary coach. Elway acted quickly with Fox in order to keep Adam Gase from taking a HC job elsewhere. Del Rio will be named new coach of the Raidahs by the end of the week. Bank on it baby!

  81. Not a huge loss and in fact wondered why he was ever hired as their coach in the first place. Very conservative and nothing special, plain vanilla coach who’s been around a long time. Elway can do better with the next hire.

  85. As a poster commented earlier, get rid of Del Rio also! When the opposing QB throws the ball on 10 of the first 11 plays, you don’t send just your 4 D lineman. You send the kitchen sink after him! Good luck Raider fans if you eventually hire Del Rio as a coach. Probably better off with Sparano.

  86. Maybe John Elway should fire himself. John Fox’s record looks pretty good compared to a lot of coaches.

  87. Manning is next, its been a great run, but I have said it before.

    Denver needs a youth movement, or they could be potentially struggle for a while. They have plenty of players on the wrong side of 30 moving forward.

  90. Rat leaving a sinking ship…..

    Denver is now turning into MN. Just good enough to never get a top QB prospect in the draft and not good enough to ever win anything.

    Elway made his play and now they’re stuck.

  91. Harbaugh 4 year record: 44-19-1 regular season, 5-3 playoffs, made playoffs 3 of 4 seasons, total record: 49-22-1 with 1 SB loss

    Fox 4 year record: 46-18, 3-4 playoffs, made playoffs all 4 seasons, 49-22 with 1 SB loss

    Why do I doubt there will be the same national uproar and mocking of the Broncos as there has been of the 49ers…based on the records, Harbaugh and Fox are basically identical over the last 4 years.

  100. thehighhat says:
    Jan 12, 2015 5:55 PM
    Harbaugh 4 year record: 44-19-1 regular season, 5-3 playoffs, made playoffs 3 of 4 seasons, total record: 49-22-1 with 1 SB loss

    Fox 4 year record: 46-18, 3-4 playoffs, made playoffs all 4 seasons, 49-22 with 1 SB loss

    Why do I doubt there will be the same national uproar and mocking of the Broncos as there has been of the 49ers…based on the records, Harbaugh and Fox are basically identical over the last 4 years.
    _______________________

    Broncos won because of their quarterback… 49ers won in spite of theirs. That’s the difference…

  101. granadafan says: Jan 12, 2015 5:24 PM

    Any coach could succeed with Manning at the helm
    ———————————————–

    In the regular season…

  102. Fox wanted out, he wasn’t forced out. He’s a manipulative guy and nothing special as a coach. He’s very close friends with Glazer….Fox used this to get out of Denver. Guess who first reported Fox and Denver parted ways…..Yep Glazer.

    John Fox cried at the press conference when the Panthers GM released Delhomme. The Panthers had to release Delhomme because Fox stuck with him when it was apparent Jake had nothing left.

  105. John Fox is a class act, but not the coach who is going to make a positive difference in a playoff game situation. He was the right answer for Denver when he was hired (pre-Manning), but wasn’t going to be able to take them to a Super Bowl title. Del Rio isn’t the answer, either. Couldn’t come up with a workable defensive scheme to stop a playoff team even when all of the pieces were put in front of him.

  107. IMO John Fox blew the 2012 season playoff game versus the Ravens by being so conservative. How can you now let Peyton pass for a first down to ice the game?

  108. When Peyton was traded to the Broncos, he said that he’ll always be an Indianapolis Colt at heart. That being said, if he DOES retire, I doubt that he would come back as part of the Broncos organization.

  112. Now it seems obvious that there was dysfunction going on. The first two years Manning pretty much ran the offense. This year John Fox tried to install his Carolina Panther horri-ball. It looked like the players quit on their coach.

  114. I heard John Elway was in a Denver ER this evening with a big gunshot in his foot. Manning will not be the next coach. Does anyone remember how Bird and Magic worked as coaches? Sorry to mix sports, but sports geniuses do not work well as coaches. Manning’s BP will hit 190 when he realizes these guys can’t do what is so simple to him.

  115. Glorious! Anybody who watched Denver play knew it was a poorly coached team.

    Talib continuously on Hilton?

    Knighton in coverage?

    Miller on Gronk?

    Russian Roulette for playcalling?

    Good Riddance. I’ll take some pain now for something better. Just don’t let Manning run the show, he should have no influence. He has 1 year AT BEST.

  116. Come to SF John… We are looking for classy coach who is loved by players. Forget the Raiders that is the bottom of the barrel plus nobody cares in the Bay unless it is the Niners!

  117. Another Jeff Fisher. He wins some games but cannot win the big games. Yet he remains in the NFL’s good old boy network of retreaded coaches.
    I’ve often wondered who he had pictures of…?

  118. First reaction: BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    Second reaction: Elway must have a plan?

    They shouldn’t have tried to out Seahawk the Seahawks…Just be yourselves, you were good at it.

  121. I bet Rex Ryan now wishes he hadn’t committed to Buffalo so soon. He’d love to come to Denver, and take Manning and that offense to the AFC Championship next year w/the Pats and Belichick.

    The defense needs to be an attacking style, with wrinkles. I felt like the D played about the same coverage the entire game. Rex and Manning would have been fun to watch.

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