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Kiszla: John Fox fires back at critics who call him conservative - The Denver Post
Oh, Broncos coach John Fox knows the rap against him. Here's how the story goes: It's a happy accident his NFL team averages 43 points per game, because Fox is so conservative he put the fuddy in duddy.
"I don't give a flying flip," Fox told me Wednesday. "I'm going to get evaluated on how many wins and losses I have."
So I asked: When he looks in the mirror, does Fox see a conservative coach?
"Well, I won a lot of games being conservative," said Fox, whose victory against Washington was the 101st of his 12-year career as an NFL head coach.
With Fox as coach, the Broncos have gone to the playoffs with Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning as quarterback.
Blog: 1st-&-Orange
The Denver Post's NFL reporters post analysis, notes and more on this blog focusing on the Broncos.
"Did I have to adjust a little bit from Tim Tebow to Peyton Manning? Yes. But I don't know that makes me conservative. It makes me a decent coach," Fox said.
During a stretch of the most recent 38 games with Fox as coach, the Broncos' record has been 28-10.
"Coaching is putting your players in the best position to win. And if you don't do that, they won't play hard for you. You won't have their confidence," Fox said. "I wasn't going to throw it 49 times a game with Tim Tebow, and that's no knock against him. And I'm not throwing the ball on fourth-and-2 with a different guy at quarterback than Peyton Manning."
But, at the midterm of the NFL season, the question lingers: Can Fox be the leader who guides the Broncos to the Super Bowl, or is this veteran coach with the 40-grit sandpaper voice and the let-the-good-times-roll laugh merely along for the ride?
In a Twitter age when a coach's personality is defined in 140 characters or fewer, the guy pacing an NFL sideline can be quickly be reduced to a cartoon character. New England's Bill Belichick is Coach Hoodie. In Denver, Mike Shanahan was the Mastermind. Because the Broncos let the final seconds of a fourth quarter tick away during a stunning overtime loss to Baltimore in the playoffs, Fox is Mr. Take a Knee.
Fair or not, the rap will follow Fox around like toilet paper stuck to a shoe, at least until the Broncos return to the playoffs, and win.
"Every time we take a knee, does that make me conservative?" Fox said. "We took a knee (against Washington) with 19 seconds to go in the second quarter and one timeout at the minus 20. But we get the ball back in 15 minutes, after coming out of the locker room, with a whole half left. Why risk something stupid happening? So you can be aggressive? I mean, where are you really going in 19 seconds?"
In the NFL, coaching conservatively is often code for playing not to lose. But Fox thinks being conservative can be worn like a badge of honor by a coach who knows the personnel in his locker room.
He points to the 2003 Carolina team that went to the Super Bowl with unremarkable Jake Delhomme at quarterback and high-profile defensive end Julius Peppers as indisputable evidence why there's no shame in conservatism. "It worked. We shortened the game. It's like small ball in baseball. If you're not overly talented, you've got to do some different things to create the opportunity to win." Fox said.
Getting bashed by a blogger, a ticket-holder in Section 524 or an ESPN analyst as conservative doesn't concern Fox. Not because he has a huge, bullet-proof ego, but because the scoreboard makes the only judgment that really matters.
"When you lose a game like Baltimore or you lose a game like Indy, you kind of know you're going to get hammered for it. We all sign up for it," Fox said. "I tell our guys all the time: 'We're under attack. But we're well-compensated for it.' "
Winning is fun. Losing stinks. Being labeled conservative or innovative falls short of defining success or failure in any meaningful terms. Fox doesn't have the luxury of caring what anybody except players think about his strategic choices.
"What people don't get is: I've got 53 guys in that locker room that work very hard. ... So, as a coach, you can't just pull stuff out of your rear end and go with it. Because players know what gives us the best chance to win," Fox said.
"They'll lose confidence in you quickly if you don't make the right calls, and that goes for how you pick the team, what you do in trades or how much money management spends. The question is: How committed is this organization to winning? Players will turn on the organization. Players will turn on the coach. Players will turn on each other. This game is only fun when you win. It's hard work. It's a blue-collar job."
Leave the magic wand to a football genius.
Hand Fox a shovel. Coaching is a dirty job. He's proud of it.
Oh, Broncos coach John Fox knows the rap against him. Here's how the story goes: It's a happy accident his NFL team averages 43 points per game, because Fox is so conservative he put the fuddy in duddy.
"I don't give a flying flip," Fox told me Wednesday. "I'm going to get evaluated on how many wins and losses I have."
So I asked: When he looks in the mirror, does Fox see a conservative coach?
"Well, I won a lot of games being conservative," said Fox, whose victory against Washington was the 101st of his 12-year career as an NFL head coach.
With Fox as coach, the Broncos have gone to the playoffs with Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning as quarterback.
Blog: 1st-&-Orange
The Denver Post's NFL reporters post analysis, notes and more on this blog focusing on the Broncos.
"Did I have to adjust a little bit from Tim Tebow to Peyton Manning? Yes. But I don't know that makes me conservative. It makes me a decent coach," Fox said.
During a stretch of the most recent 38 games with Fox as coach, the Broncos' record has been 28-10.
"Coaching is putting your players in the best position to win. And if you don't do that, they won't play hard for you. You won't have their confidence," Fox said. "I wasn't going to throw it 49 times a game with Tim Tebow, and that's no knock against him. And I'm not throwing the ball on fourth-and-2 with a different guy at quarterback than Peyton Manning."
But, at the midterm of the NFL season, the question lingers: Can Fox be the leader who guides the Broncos to the Super Bowl, or is this veteran coach with the 40-grit sandpaper voice and the let-the-good-times-roll laugh merely along for the ride?
In a Twitter age when a coach's personality is defined in 140 characters or fewer, the guy pacing an NFL sideline can be quickly be reduced to a cartoon character. New England's Bill Belichick is Coach Hoodie. In Denver, Mike Shanahan was the Mastermind. Because the Broncos let the final seconds of a fourth quarter tick away during a stunning overtime loss to Baltimore in the playoffs, Fox is Mr. Take a Knee.
Fair or not, the rap will follow Fox around like toilet paper stuck to a shoe, at least until the Broncos return to the playoffs, and win.
"Every time we take a knee, does that make me conservative?" Fox said. "We took a knee (against Washington) with 19 seconds to go in the second quarter and one timeout at the minus 20. But we get the ball back in 15 minutes, after coming out of the locker room, with a whole half left. Why risk something stupid happening? So you can be aggressive? I mean, where are you really going in 19 seconds?"
In the NFL, coaching conservatively is often code for playing not to lose. But Fox thinks being conservative can be worn like a badge of honor by a coach who knows the personnel in his locker room.
He points to the 2003 Carolina team that went to the Super Bowl with unremarkable Jake Delhomme at quarterback and high-profile defensive end Julius Peppers as indisputable evidence why there's no shame in conservatism. "It worked. We shortened the game. It's like small ball in baseball. If you're not overly talented, you've got to do some different things to create the opportunity to win." Fox said.
Getting bashed by a blogger, a ticket-holder in Section 524 or an ESPN analyst as conservative doesn't concern Fox. Not because he has a huge, bullet-proof ego, but because the scoreboard makes the only judgment that really matters.
"When you lose a game like Baltimore or you lose a game like Indy, you kind of know you're going to get hammered for it. We all sign up for it," Fox said. "I tell our guys all the time: 'We're under attack. But we're well-compensated for it.' "
Winning is fun. Losing stinks. Being labeled conservative or innovative falls short of defining success or failure in any meaningful terms. Fox doesn't have the luxury of caring what anybody except players think about his strategic choices.
"What people don't get is: I've got 53 guys in that locker room that work very hard. ... So, as a coach, you can't just pull stuff out of your rear end and go with it. Because players know what gives us the best chance to win," Fox said.
"They'll lose confidence in you quickly if you don't make the right calls, and that goes for how you pick the team, what you do in trades or how much money management spends. The question is: How committed is this organization to winning? Players will turn on the organization. Players will turn on the coach. Players will turn on each other. This game is only fun when you win. It's hard work. It's a blue-collar job."
Leave the magic wand to a football genius.
Hand Fox a shovel. Coaching is a dirty job. He's proud of it.
