The Chicago Bears came into the 2017 campaign expecting to build upon their horrid 2016 season. Now with their guy under center in Mitchell Trubisky, the Bears have something they haven’t had in a long time, hope. This however is not to praise the play of the Bears young signal caller but to criticize the lethargic coaching of John Fox, the lame duck head coach of the Bears. Sunday against the Lions looked like an opportunity to win a very winnable game however John Fox happened co-starring kicker Connor Barth. This game should be a message to General Manager Ryan Pace how important it is to get this next hire right.

John Fox was hired in January of 2015 to bring stability to a historically dysfunctional franchise. Ryan Pace was adamant in his hiring that Fox had a history of showing improvement quickly with teams that he has coached. That trend hasn’t come into fruition during Fox’s time in Chicago. Facing yet another season with double digits in the loss column and a last place finish, it’s easy to ask, “where do we go from here?” After a lackluster showing from most of the team on Sunday, it was clear that this was just a microcosm of the John Fox Era in Chicago.

The Bears losing the football game is frustrating however the thing that is the most nagging is the simple fact that the Bears are seemingly out coached in every facet of the game. Dowell Loggains was able to put together a great package of scripted plays for the offense on the game’s first and second drives. Following these drives the play calling as it had all season had become predictable and uninspiring. Trubisky attributed some of the play calling to what “Coach Fox allows us to do” when asked about it in the post game press conference.

If Ryan Pace wants to build a winner here in Chicago, then John Fox needs to be fired to hire a coach that brings the ability to nurture the talent of a young quarterback like Trubisky. No one can dispute the fact that John Fox has done some great things in the NFL however the style is outdated and working as a detriment to the Bears long term plans. Winning cures all ales and NFL history has shown that if you get the quarterback correct then the rest usually takes care of itself. Fox simply is not the man to be entrusted with the future of this franchise, Mitchell Trubisky.