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Urlacher approves of Fox hire: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/colum...117-column.html

PFF has their Free Agent Tracker up with ratings, here are some positions we have needs at: Edge Rusher J. Houston, KC - 51.1 P. McPhee, BAL - 26 B. Graham, PHI - 22.8 J. Pierre-Paul, NYG - 16.9 D. Morgan, TEN - 14.6 J. Worilds, PIT - 11.7 J. Hughes, BUF - 9.7 DT N. Suh, DET - 27.5 S. Paea, CHI - 14.4 T. Knighton, DEN - 12.7 D. Harrison, NYJ - 11.5 D. Williams, ARZ - 11.5 N. Fairley, DET - 9.8 J. Ordrick, MIA - 9 S M. Adams, IND - 11.7 D. McCourty, NE - 11.6 D. Landry, NYJ - 10.9 T. Gipson, CLE - 10.3 D. Searcy, BUF - 8.6 S. Brown, IND - 5.3 CB K. Jackson, HOU - 9.5 R. Mathis, IND - 9.1 C. Culliver, SF - 8.5 B. Flowers, SD - 8.2 S. Moore, DAL - 6 LB R. McClain, DAL - 13.9 L. Briggs, CHI - 7.6 B. Spikes, BUF - 7.3 G. Hayes, JAX - 5.9 OT B. Bulaga, GB - 11.9 D. Newton, HOU - 8.9 J. Parness, DAL - 8.7 D. Free, DAL - 8.5 K. Dunlap, SD - 6.8 M. Roos, TEN - 4.6 OG O. Franklin, DEN - 12 M. Iupati, SF - 11.2 C. Boling, CIN - 5.8 OC R. Hudson, KC - 13 B. DelaPuente, CHI - 4.3 W. Montgomery, DEN - 3.2 FB H. Hynoski, NYG - 6.4 J. Felton, MIN - 3.7

Unless there are two Chris Harris on the Broncos, one just signed a long extension last month and is not a FA.

Allen has a $12.5 cap hit (dead money) if he is cut in 2015, but in 2016 he can be cut with zero dead money, so he will be a Bear in 2015 (unless traded).

That is awesome. It is amazing to see the quality we are being linked to and interviewing with. Fox really brings in instant credibility. Pace is really impressing me thus far. Looks like offense is Shanahan-35 (OC), Gase-36 (OC), and Mularkey-53 (HC/OC), and defense is Fangio-56 (DC), Allen-42 (HC/DC), and Nolan-55 (HC/DC). All have been previous coordinators, and half have had previous HC experience.

I was just being silly, I knew what you meant, but I wanted to accent "good ass coaches".

And Assistant coaches

I think with Fox's input, they are going to have a pretty solid acquisition strategy, and if the Coordinators are experienced, they will be able to maximize their talents (unlike the clowns we had).

If he is no longer with SF, why are they asking permission and to who? SF has had a great defense, and this would be a very solid hire. Also means shift to 3-4 (or at least hybrid).

and to those who have concerns about Pace:

Looks like Shanny and Allen are early favorites. I have seen Gase and Mularkey mentioned as well.

That is not correct, that only applies to Head Coaches:

They also "publicly" fired Kromer and fired Kevin Turks. Also, they have moved quickly: Dec 29th - Emery/Trestman fired January 8th - Ryan Pace hired (10 days later) January 16th - Fox hired (8 days later) So in 18 days (which included New Year's holiday), this franchise has done an internal 180 in terms of vision and leadership, and something we haven't seen in a long time if ever. Now we are on to the next step of Coordinators/Assistants, Roster and draft prospect evaluations.

Fox QB's 2014 - Manning 2013 - Manning 2012 - Manning 2011 - Tebow, Orton (8-8) 2010 - Clausen, Moore, St. Pierre (2-14) 2009 - Delhomme, Moore (8-8) 2008 - Delhomme 2007 - Testaverde, Carr, Moore, Delhomme (7-9) 2006 - Delhomme, Weinke (8-8) 2005 - Delhomme 2004 - Delhomme (7-9) 2003 - Delhomme, Peete 2002 - Peete, Fasani, Weinke (7-9)

I am very excited and really like this hire (compared to my non-committal stance on Trestman - it never felt right). Pace knows what he is doing and I think pairing him with a veteran coach with sustained success (and a ton of experience and respect) is a great move. Looking at Fox's numbers, he has been remarkable at turning around organizations: In Carolina, he took a 1-15 team and improved by 6 games the next year and improved by 4 more games in Year #2 and reaches the Super Bowl (lost by Vinatieri FG after Kasay kicks ball out of bounds on kickoff). (CAR) Year Before Fox: 1-15, 28th in pts, 31st in yds Fox's 1st Year: 7-9, 5th in pts, 2nd in yds In Denver, a very similar tune. He was hired right after being fired in Carolina. He then takes a 4-12 team and improves by 4 wins in year #1 (and advances to 2nd round of playoffs with Tebow at QB), then gains 5 more gains in year #2 with another playoff visit. (DEN) Year Before Fox: 4-12, 32nd in pts, 32nd in yds Fox's 1st Year: 8-8, 24th in pts, 20th in yds Average of 5 more wins in year #1 and 9.5 by year #2. Now it may be a little unrealistic to expect the exact same results, but the precedence is there to at least improve. 5 wins would give us 10, and 9 wins makes us a 14 win team in year #2. I would be happy with 9-7 and 11-5. Where he really excels is on the defensive side of the ball. Here are all Fox's teams Defensive Rankings. To me all this is very promising. Defensive Ranks YR - PTS - YDS 2014 - 16 - 3 2013 - 22 - 19 2012 - 4 - 2 2011 - 24 - 20 (DEN) 2010 - 26 - 18 (CAR) 2009 - 9 - 8 2008 - 12 - 18 2007 - 15 - 16 2006 - 8 - 7 2005 - 5 - 3 2004 - 15 - 20 2003 - 10 - 8 2002 - 5 - 2

Oh, I was talking about the media, some are hating the pick.

I just hate the detractors talking about how Fox is only good because Peyton Manning, then the same could be said about Dungy, etc. In a way Manning was the reason why Fox lost. I thought his run with Tebow was amazing. He completely revamped the scheme and game plan to maximize the strengths of his players. If he did that with our team, we are 3-4 games better instantly. back in Chi-town:

Thanks, saw it on Twitter, instant classic. Thinking about this from Fox's perspective, we had to either offer him a ton of cash or something was appealing enough to take the position that quick. Hopefully it was Pace's vision and direction of the team. That would be refreshing. Any news on where Emery is going next? Of all our coaching hires, is Fox the most seasoned coach we have ever signed? All the previous ones dating back to Armstrong and Pardee seem to all be coordinators or assistants.

Woo Hoo, and thanks for the original scoop (2 for 2). Jay Glazer ‏@JayGlazer 12m12 minutes ago

I am sure it has something to do with Coordinators and Assistants, that is why Pace went to Denver. I hope it gets done today so the staff can get to the Senior Bowl next week.

This is what I said in another thread, still seems pretty accurate. Looking at some early mocks, it seems that the consensus is that Mariota, Williams, Cooper, Gregory, and Winston will all be gone in the top 6, leaving only one other player drafted before we pick, probably from the group of: (Beasley-LB, Ray-DE, Scherff-OT, Collins-S, Fowler-LB, Thompson-LB, Parker-WR, Peat-OT, Dupree-DE).

Looks like he was fined by team for weight: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/broncos-playe...-171300324.html Don't know if that having the same coach would hurt or help our cause. He is definitely an immovable object when he is in there.

Yeah I saw that, so I would assume Pace is meeting/interviewing Coordinators with Fox?

Yeah I was thinking that as well, maybe he was flying back to talk to assistants before making an announcement.

I hope he is just flying back to get a different suit.