Fox, who led the Carolina Panthers to one Super Bowl, and three playoff appearances, in nine seasons, has been rumored as the Bronco's choice for a while, but John Elway made the hire official today with this tweet,
Said Elway, "He is a dynamic and proven leader who will energize our entire organization".
Fox returns to coaching in the AFC for the first time in 16-years. His last stint was as the defensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Raiders—now in Oakland.
He is expected to be an upgrade in both experience and leadership over the fired Josh McDaniels—whose personality and personnel decisions often left much to be desired—but is still a curious pick given his perceived lack of passion his last two seasons in Charlotte.
Will the support system in Denver be enough to get his competitive juices flowing again?
Whatever his mindset coming in, his next major task is filling out the offensive and defensive staff. No names have been seriously mentioned yet, but speculation has already begun on what type of offensive scheme Fox will bring (west coast) and whether or not Tim Tebow will be the guy executing it.
It's no secret that as nimble afoot as Tebow is, he still has a ways to go to become the type of quarterback who can confidently take snaps from under-center. That said, if he can continue to develop and make the proper tweaks to his game, he could become a decent candidate to run a west coast type offense—which centers around short passes, a strong rushing element, and the occasional big downfield play.
As for the defense, some are hoping that Fox can call upon his friend and former college teammate, Herman Edwards. Edwards is currently an analyst for ESPN, but has a reputation in the league as a good defensive coordinator.
One thing that is almost certain is the Bronco's 2011 draft pick will go towards upgrading their defense.
Assuming Nick Fairley declares himself draft eligible—which he almost certainly will—he could be the guy. If not him, Patrick Peterson (DB) of the LSU Tigers could be a possibility.
The Broncos stand to lose some talent at the secondary position in the near future as Champ Bailey enters the latter part of his career, and Perrish Cox's situation remains up in the air in light of his sexual assault charge.
Peterson could fit the bill as both a defender and special teams player as he is a very skilled return man as well.
Fox will have his hands full over the next few months as he evaluates exactly what he has in Denver, and what direction the team will go from this point forward.
