ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Broncos are in fact parting ways with HC John Fox. Jay Glazer of FOX Sports has confirmed the news and adds that Fox met with president/GM John Elway this afternoon when the two men agreed to move on. Vic Lombardi reports that the entire coaching staff has been let go in Denver, not just Fox. Jeff Darlington confirms that the entire coaching staff has been told they can and should “look elsewhere” for an opportunity. Elway told the staff that their new head coach will be allowed to retain some of them or look for his own guys, per Darlington. Statement from John Elway: “John Fox and I met for more than an hour on Monday afternoon to discuss the 2014 season and our goals for the future. During our open and candid conversation, it became clear that it was best for both the Denver Broncos and Coach Fox to move on and make this change. “On behalf of the Broncos, I sincerely thank John for his many contributions during his four seasons as head coach. He helped establish a positive, winning culture for this team and deserves a lot of credit for the Broncos’ turnaround. “While we have made significant progress under Coach Fox, there is still work to be done. I believe this change at the head coaching position will be in the best interest of our long-term goal, which from day one has been to win World Championships. “Our organization is fully dedicated to reaching Pat Bowlen’s high standards for his team as we begin the process of finding the next head coach to lead the Denver Broncos.” Statement from John Fox: “I had a productive visit with John Elway this afternoon in which we were both very honest about our time together and how to best move forward. After this discussion, John and I mutually agreed that the timing was right for this decision. “Although we came up short of our ultimate goal, I am proud of our team’s many accomplishments during these last four years. I truly appreciate all of the hard work put in by every player, coach and staff member within this organization. “It was an honor to coach the Denver Broncos, a first-class franchise with great fans and a winning tradition. I am thankful to John, Mr. Bowlen and Joe Ellis for allowing me and my family to be part of this team and community. “I am eager to continue my coaching career and look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead.” Glazer mentioned Sunday that there was a chance this move could be coming if Denver wound up losing to the Colts. Glazer added that Fox would likely be in demand if he were to be available, so this is something to watch in regards to the other five head-coaching jobs that are currently available. According to Pro Football Talk, rumors had been circulating for weeks that, if the Broncos went one-and-out in the playoffs, Fox would be out in Denver. Ian Rapoport report that Elway told people as recently as yesterday that even if the team lost in a blowout, Fox would be back. After the game, Fox told reporters that he intends to be back with the Broncos next year. “I’ve seen all kind of reports in the past, I’m sure I’ll see some moving forward. I don’t make those decisions, I don’t control that,” Fox said. “My intentions are to be a Denver Bronco and have been since I got here. It’s not about me; it’s about this football team.” Fox still had another few years remaining on his contract, but it appears as though the Broncos are prepared to move in a new direction. However, Peter King of MMQB.com mentions that we shouldn’t automatically assume OC Adam Gase will get the job. Jason La Canfora believes this could be an indication that the Broncos will try to get cheaper and younger next season. La Canfora suggests that RB coach Eric Studesville will likely get an interview for the job. Chris Mortensen also expects a number of changes to be coming for the Broncos in the next few days. Interestingly enough, King suggests Mike Shanahan could be someone the Broncos consider bringing back given that he has a great relationship with John Elway. The Broncos were 46 and 18 (71.9 percent) since Fox took the job back in 2011. Fox led them to a Super Bowl and won eight playoff games over the course of four years.
Ross keeps our head coach even though we have not made the playoffs. The Broncos clean house because they lose in the 1st round after making it to the Super Bowl the previous year. I guess Denver's owner has higher standards than Ross does.
Fox is pretty overrated, guy should have 3 SB rings at this point in his career yet he has zero, plus, it should pretty obvious that Elway is gonna try to bring Shanahan back.
I'm sorry but if you're Peyton's HC or OC you shouldn't be a famous name. This speaks to how absolutely meaningless people should be who are tied to the most elite QBs--especially Peyton Manning. I'm sorry but your record of 48-16 means nothing to me.
Fox is the textbook example of the kind of coach that I want the Fins to hire. Experienced and a winner, and talks to the media like a human being. His downfall in Carolina came when their pathetic GM stuck him with Matt Moore at QB instead of bringing either a veteran or rookie in instead. Fire Philbin now and bring this guy in.
John Fox ain't nothing special. It's on the GM & HC together to build the team and he failed in Carolina and has done nothing extraordinary in Denver. He had every opportunity to put together something better in Denver and it didn't happen. Another "motivational" coach. Another "players coach." I don't see it personally.
So a consistent playoff coach , isn't deemed to be the answer , that he will not win the ultimate goal and is let go less than a day after his teams season ends . Do we see any similarities to how the Dolphins have been and are managing their organization ? No ? I didn't think so .
According to reports, Mike Shanahan will not return to Denver. That would've been fun to see though. Kubiak still has a shot.
What I really want to see is Ross stand up next year - after another average record (somewhere between 7-9 or 9-7) at best, and state plainly and clearly that he has completely failed the fans, the community and the team by retaining Philbin. He won't, but if he has 1/32 of an ounce of integrity, he would. I don't necessarily think Fox should be fired given that he really didn't have Peyton Manning the last month of the season (given the revelation of his quad injury and the fact that Manning played so poorly), but I do get that. However, I would only have done that if I really had a strong idea about who I wanted as the next coach. Personally, I would love to poach one of their big-time receivers (either of the Thomas's). But, our cap is not really great. Not bad, but not great. And they will garner big time money if they reach free agency.
So basically Belicheck shouldn't get any of the credit for the Patriots over the last dozen years because he has had an elite QB in Brady? I guess it also means that it doesn't matter who the HC is in Green Bay because Rogers is an elite QB. I think elite QB or not, it still takes an elite head coach to get the most out of the entire team and lead them to the Super Bowl or deep into the playoffs. If all it took was an elite QB, Manning would have won far more than just one Super Bowl in his career. Jim Harbaugh showed how much difference an elite head coach can make when he went to the 49ers and turned a losing team into a playoff team in one season. In fact there have been a number of quality head coaches in recent years who have taken over and turned a losing team into a playoff team in their first year as the teams head coach. Of course you also have those real meaningless head coaches who take over a mediocre team and after three years they produce only mediocre records. The best owners replace these type coaches, while the clueless owners decide to keep the HC and give them an extension. I just wish the Dolphins had an owner with the same guts as the owner in Denver. He wants to win Super Bowls in Denver, while Ross seems quite content with rewarding mediocrity. The firing of Fox by the Broncos only shows more clearly how inept Ross is for keeping Philbin after this past season.
Philbin hasn't done anything special in Miami. He has failed to have one winning season as the Dolphins head coach. He has had three years to put together at least one winning season and has failed every year. I agree Fox is nothing special and I understand his firing. I just don't understand how a coach who isn't even as good as Fox is still the head coach of the Dolphins.
i think its jumping the gun bigtime, peyton is there for at least for 1 more year i would guess, if Gase gets a bigger gig somewhere, peyton has get to be comfortable with a bunch of new guys, maybe he will retire now after that
Im not so sure I agree with that. You've got to be a pretty good coach to take two different teams to the Super Bowl. I don't care if Peyton was his QB the second time around. He's a good football coach. Is an upgrade over Philbin without a doubt in my mind. Maybe not as big of an upgrade as some others, but he'd be a much better option. It's all irrelevant anyways. We're stuck with Clueless Joe another year anyways.
God forbid they go 9-7 next year. This most likely won't be good enough into to get into the playoffs, but it will likely be enough for Ross to reward Philbin with a new five year contract. I'm not too worried about a 9-7 record though. I figure next year is going to turn out similar to Sparano's fourth year with the team and Philbin will be out as the HC before the season is over in 2015. I see Lazor being the interim HC for the last part of next season and Tannebaum being in charge of hiring the next GM and HC. I suspect both those new hires will have ties to the Jets in their not so distant past.
Manning went to Denver because of the owner and Elway, not because Fox was the HC. If Manning is healthy and wants to play next year and Elways wants him to return, Manning will return, no matter who the next HC turns out to be. I just think he should retire because he really has nothing left to prove and it appears age and injuries have finally caught up with him.
