Profiling Broncos Coach John Fox

Denver Broncos head coach John Fox turned 57 today. Happy birthday, coach.

"“He’s spending the day meeting with coaches/personnel dept. prepping for FA/draft.” – Broncos PR Director Patrick Smyth (Twitter)"

With today being Fox’s birthday, there’s no better time to profile the head coach, and examine what he’s meant to the Broncos during his short time with the team .

Fox will enter his 26th year as a coach in the NFL. He got his start in 1986 as a defensive backs coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers and he’s coached six different teams since then. Fox got his head coaching start in 2002 when took over in Carolina. Two years into his coaching tenure, he took the Panthers to a Super Bowl after the team went 1-15 the year before he arrived.

Fox was hired by the Broncos in 2011 after Josh McDaniels’ two year stint left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Fox was seen as the guy who could return the franchise back to glory in a relatively short time period. No one knew that he would take a 4-12 team to 8-8 and into the second round of the 2012 payoffs.

Many eyes shift towards Tim Tebow when looking at where to give credit for the Broncos turnaround. While Tebow played a major role, there’s no doubt that none of this would have been possible without Fox.

Along with John Elway and GM Brian Xanders, Fox brought defensive coordinator Dennis Allen aboard. Instantly the team’s defense improved with the drafting of Von Miller, and recognizing talent in little known players such as Chris Harris. Without that No. 2 draft selection who knows where the Broncos would have ended up in 2011.

Fox decided to keep Mike McCoy on as offensive coordinator. His decision to bench Kyle Orotn in favor of Tebow turned the entire season around and McCoy can be credited as the innovator for some creative play calling.

Any way you look at it, Fox knows how to grab hold of the steering wheel and right the ship. We look forward to what’s to come in the future.

As Fox blows out his birthday candles today, we can probably guess what he’ll wish for.

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