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Fox: Bears 'closer than people think' to turnaround

By The Sports Xchange
Chicago Bears coach John Fox looks on from the sidelines during an NFL game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on September 28. Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/UPI
Chicago Bears coach John Fox looks on from the sidelines during an NFL game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay on September 28. Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/UPI | License Photo

John Fox sees a brighter future for his former team after it recorded last-place finishes in each of the last three seasons.

The former Chicago Bears coach saw his club struggle to score points (18.3, tied for 30th in the NFL) and post a minus-24 turnover differential (31st) during his three seasons at the helm. As a result, the Bears limped to a 14-34 mark and made themselves comfortable in the cellar of the NFC North.

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Despite those numbers, Fox told NBC Sports Chicago that he thinks the Bears are close to turning around their fortunes.

"It would've been nice to see it through," the 63-year-old Fox said. "That's kind of a bitter pill but you sort things out and move forward.

"I do think it's closer than people think. We inherited a mess ... but I felt we were on the brink at the end. I think that (Halas Hall) building is definitely different; they feel it. I do think that it was a positive."

Optimism in the Windy City abounds with new head coach Matt Nagy at the helm and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky heading into his second season.

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"You wish some things would've happened differently obviously, but there was a lot positive that happened."

Fox coached the Denver Broncos to a 46-18 record, four consecutive division titles and a Super Bowl appearance, but that level of success did not travel with him to the Windy City.

It simply hasn't worked in Chicago, where the Bears have gone 6-10, 3-13 and 5-11 in Fox's three seasons. In 2017, they were 0-6 vs. the NFC North, marking the franchise's first winless season in their division in nearly 50 years.

Fox owns a 133-123 record with Chicago, Denver and the Carolina Panthers.

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