These Are the Two Hottest Names if the Bears Fire John Fox

Will the Chicago Bears fire John Fox? Only GM Ryan Pace can answer that question. Even he may not know yet. There are still 10 games left to play in 2017. The Bears are 2-4 following their overtime victory in Baltimore. No doubt the brass want to see if Fox can get things pointed in the right direction. Not to mention how he manages the development of rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky. At the same time it's impossible to ignore the facts. This team almost gave that Ravens game away. They lost winnable contests against Atlanta and Minnesota too. Not because those two teams were better. Each time it was because the Bears couldn't stop shooting themselves in the foot. Too often they've looked unprepared and undisciplined in games. Problems like that get traced back to the head coach. Fox has been surrounded by such accusations for years now. It was a big reason he was fired in Denver. Now many think it's only a matter of time before he's ousted from Chicago too. If that were to happen, the inevitable question comes up. Who will replace him? (continue to next page)

If the Bears fire John Fox these are the 2 names getting attention

To date most people think they know who the obvious candidates are for 2018. Sometimes that's the case but they may be surprised next year. Benjamin Allbright, the same insider who first broke that the Bears were starting Trubisky, explored his own sources looking for names to watch. Turns out the ones getting the most buzz were virtual no-names to more than a few people last year.

Who? Okay some context will be needed. Let's start with Todd Wash. He is defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He arrived in the NFL in 2007 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and became a respected defensive line coach. Eventually he landed in Seattle in 2011 and held the same job there for two years. Jacksonville brought him in for that job in 2013 and three years later he was promoted to defensive coordinator. The Jaguars went from 24th in total defense in 2015 to sixth his first year. They are ninth so far this season. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Steelers-Couldnt-Break-Through-Jags-Defense-Jaguars-vs.-Steelers-Wk-5-Player-Highlights.mp4"][/video] John Morton may be the more surprising name. He was a journeyman wide receiver who played in the NFL, NFL Europe and the CFL. Retiring in 1998, he joined the Oakland Raiders as a scout. After three years he moved to coaching and swiftly rose up the ranks. By 2007 he was receivers coach at USC. Two years later he became offensive coordinator. In 2011 he regained his receivers coach job in San Francisco and got two 1,000-yard seasons from Michael Crabtree. New Orleans scooped him up in 2015 for the same position and he contributed to an offense that ranked first in passing two-straight years. Now he's offensive coordinator for the New York Jets. Somehow, despite constant insistence the team has no talent, he's improved them from 26th to 21st.

So what happened to the supposed big names?

Perhaps what is so difficult to accept about this is that the two big names are coming from the Jaguars and Jets. Neither team can be associated with great success in recent years. What happened to the big names like Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia or Jim Bob Cooter? Well according to Allbright NFL teams aren't quite as high on them as the masses.

Word persists that McDaniels may be keen on taking over for Belichick whenever he retires. Also some wonder if he has the personality of a head coach. Patricia has two rings but his defense has taken a huge step back this year, ranking 32nd in the league. As for Cooter it's clear his success is tied to the exceptional play of Matthew Stafford. Most other aspects of the Detroit Lions offense like their blocking and their running game are average at best. It will be fascinating to see how Wash and Morton continue to progress over the final three months of the season. Perhaps one of them may take over command control of this franchise next year.