John Fox Departs Denver; Is He A Potential Bears Candidate?

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (CBS/AP) Coach John Fox and the Denver Broncos parted ways Monday, setting off a flurry of speculation that he could become the latest candidate being eyed by the Chicago Bears.

Fox was the Giants' defensive coordinator from 1997-2001, a stretch in which Ernie Accorsi served first as the assistant general manager and then as the general manager in New York. Accorsi is now acting as a consultant for the Bears as they search for a new coach.

Fox won the AFC West all four of his years in Denver, but each of those seasons ended in ugly fashion in the playoffs, including Sunday's stunning 24-13 loss to Indianapolis in the divisional round. Fox was 49-22 in Denver after going 73-71 in nine years with the Carolina Panthers.

In three seasons with Peyton Manning, the Broncos went 38-10 in the regular season but were upset twice at home in the divisional round and got upended by the Seahawks, 43-8, in last year's Super Bowl.

The Broncos went 8-8 in Fox's first year, when Tebowmania was in full pitch. The stakes were raised when Manning replaced Tim Tebow in 2012.

The Twitterverse was afire with speculation after the news broke about Fox's departure and its possible connection to the situation in Chicago. The Bears are looking for a new coach following the firing of Marc Trestman after a disappointing 5-11 season.

[tweet https://twitter.com/RyanBakerMedia/status/554773802056691712]

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