John Fox in perspective: How do you judge?

[guyinchesapeake]

"12-4 is a pretty damn good record, and half the board wanted him fired after the last game."

True that, but that last loss was quite disturbing. The way the team quit well before half time was an eye opener. A successful season was expected, if they stayed healthy, per the pre-season predictions I read in my local paper here. But 'successful' does imply some success in the post season, or at least be competitive in a losing effort. That didn't happen, and the blame for that lies squarely on the coach and his staff...

[mantal]

"12-4 is a pretty damn good record, and half the board wanted him fired after the last game."

True that, but that last loss was quite disturbing. The way the team quit well before half time was an eye opener. A successful season was expected, if they stayed healthy, per the pre-season predictions I read in my local paper here. But 'successful' does imply some success in the post season, or at least be competitive in a losing effort. That didn't happen, and the blame for that lies squarely on the coach and his staff...

And I believe that has been addressed with pretty much the entire defensive coaching staff being changed. I know that a lot of you believe that crap about contract extensions, etc. being too late and all, but I don't believe it for a minute. The defensive staff got run out on a rail, just not with a lot of press to that nature... IMO...

[TheJza]

I have mixed feelings.

On one hand, the WORST he has done is a 7-9 record. So, a bad season for Fox still ranks him as the "cream of the crap". It should be noted also, that the three years that were below .500 were his first season, which happened to be a substantial improvement, and two others which were decimated by injury...to be fair. He has also produced three playoff seasons in 7. Two other seasons were lost to the playoffs in the final game of the regular season. Not to mention two NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl appearance. Pretty respectable, if not impressive, on paper.

On the other hand, watching his teams evolve the last few seasons is as exciting as watching grass grow. His propensity for blind loyalty drives me nuts. As does his willingness to "play not to lose". I thought, in fact, that you play to win the game. The lackluster style in which his defenses play, along with the idea that a punt "is a good offensive play", makes me cringe.

In summary, a lot more fire, more aggression, and more personal accountability, and I can live with that. I'm not a fan of firing coaches, just for the sake of firing them. I believe that if a coach is fired, you have to replace them with someone BETTER. If that can't be accomplished...you certainly haven't moved forward.

Color me confused.