Bears not expected to fire coach John Fox, GM Ryan Pace

ByAdam Schefter ESPN logo
Sunday, January 1, 2017

The jobs of Chicago Bears head coach John Fox and general manager Ryan Pace appear to be safe, and the team is not expected to be making any significant coaching changes, league sources told ESPN.



Fox is in the second year of a four-year deal he signed with Chicago in 2015. The Bears, 3-12 entering Sunday's season finale against the Vikings in Minneapolis, will finish last in the NFC North for the third straight season.They went 6-10 in 2015.



Hired by the Bears after going 46-18 in four seasons with the Broncos, Fox hasn't been able to replicate that level of success in Chicago.



Longtime running back Matt Forte left the team via free agency after the 2015 season and Fox never seemed to mesh with incumbent quarterback Jay Cutler. Cutler played in just five games in 2016 after missing time early in the season with a sprained thumb before finishing the year on injured reserve with a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Brian Hoyer, who began the season as Cutler's backup, broke his left arm in a Week 7 loss to the Packers.



Injuries also slowed down the team's wide receivers. Kevin White, the Bears' top draft pick in 2015, missed his entire rookie season because of a stress fracture in his left shin and fractured his left fibula in Week 4 of this season. The past two seasons haven't been much better for veteran Alshon Jeffery, who played in only nine games in 2015 due to calf and hamstring injuries, and was suspended for four games in 2016 for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances.

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