John Fox is worthy of induction into the Broncos Ring of Fame

The Peyton Manning era will forever be reflected upon as one of the brightest and most exciting time periods in Broncos history. Record books were re-written for both sides of the ball.

The sting of the crushing defeat in Super Bowl 48 was replaced almost immediately by the joy of watching John Elway hoist the Lombardi Trophy and shout “This one’s for Pat!” A franchise was lifted from the depths of mediocrity and thrust directly into the limelight.

One aspect of that time period that is often overlooked is the responsibility placed upon the coach who was expected to make everything work. John Fox, in just his second year with the Broncos, was presented with a bizarre and challenging task: Take the team you just built from scratch in the previous year and turn it upside down. Throw everything out. Start over.

The offense that highlighted Tim Tebow’s unique skillset would not work for Peyton Manning. Manning may be remembered as one of the greatest free agents in history now, but at the time, there was no real guarantee that he would be anything close to the quarterback he was before his series of neck surgeries.

Fox’s ability to win the division and a playoff game in 2011 after changing quarterbacks midseason showed both resilience and grace under pressure. The fact that he was able to do it over and over again for the next three consecutive seasons with a new quarterback and a different system showed sound philosophy, and the development of a winning culture.

Something that happens once is a fluke. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is a pattern. Four times? That’s a standard.

And for that reason, John Fox should be elected to the Broncos Ring of Fame.

There may be some out there who believe Fox wasn’t with the Broncos for long enough to earn that honor, but the reality is the team’s official requirement is four years. Which means Fox makes the cut, while Demarcus Ware does not (but that’s a column for another day).

There may still be some who say Fox didn’t accomplish enough in his tenure to deserve enshrinement. So let’s take a look at his resume from 2011-2014:

• 46-18 regular season record (a win percentage of .718)
• 4 AFC West division titles
• 1 AFC Championship victory
• 1 Super Bowl appearance

Outside of winning Super Bowl 48, it’s tough to imagine what more Fox could have accomplished during his time here. His team finished in the top five in points, yards, point differential, yardage differential and win-loss ratio for three consecutive years from 2012-14. Not to mention his .718 win percentage is the highest of any head coach in franchise history.

It would be easy to place all of that success on the shoulders of Manning or offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, who deserve a great deal of credit in their own right, but a quarterback doesn’t operate in a vacuum. And an offensive coordinator doesn’t manage an entire game. If he is to take the lion’s share of the blame for his team’s short comings, he should be given an equal amount of praise for its success.

Fox’s absence from the Ring of Fame is even more glaring, considering there is currently a former coach who has already been inducted, whose resume isn’t as impressive.

Red Miller, who was elected in 2017, coached the Broncos from 1977-1980. So he too was with the team for only four years.

Under Miller, the Broncos won an AFC Championship and made an appearance in Super Bowl XII, where they lost in blowout fashion. Sound familiar?

Unlike Fox, however, Miller was only able to win the division twice during his tenure, and earned a win percentage of just .650 after finishing his career with a regular season record of 40-22.

If Red Miller, who was a terrific coach, was deemed worthy of the Ring of Fame, then it seems only logical that a coach who led the team for the same number of years while winning more regular season and playoff games should be deemed worthy also.