The ideal is to get a solid HC in place so you don't have to change constantly. New England has that. I don't know if Fox is capable or not. I do know that teams like the Bears & Browns change GMs and HCs and never build continuity. Crap franchises.
Even old Lovie Smith, Mr Mediocre himself, was the 3rd winningest coach in franchise history when we had some continuity here.
At some point the Bears need to get a solid coach and just get out of his way and let him build something here.
I think JABF, that you are right, but just have the order wrong. First get as good coach, then get continuity. Continuity with a bad coach just gives you a longer streak of mediocrity.
The 1st move is to get a coach you believe in, and give him the power to coach his way and not worry about being fired after a year or two. Get out of his way and let him coach. The obvious key is that it has to be a good coach. It is definitely arguable if Fox is or isn't that guy. If he is, then you need to give the man a chance to fully (fully) execute the turnaround. This is why (obviously) it is so important to get it right with the coaching hire to begin with.
The Browns fired Bill Belichick after some losing seasons. At New England Belichick had a 5-win season his first year. But NE stuck with him. It was a good move on New England's part. The firing by the Browns was a stupid move on their part.
If you are constantly firing coaches/GMs after a couple years, you are going to be the Bears & Browns. Crap franchises.
It's a valid point. There are crap young coaches. There are crap old coaches. There are outstanding old coaches, and young coaches. It's not age. It's knowing how to coach at a high level.
I am thinking that my point got somehow skewed. Age has nothing to do with good or bad coaches. I never said it did. Butkus took that and ran with it. What I did say was that age matters in terms of being set in your ways.
I have come to believe in football and in life that there are few absolutes. Bill Belichick is old, but he remains a guy who is the master at adapting his teams over the years to his player's talents. Even within games he is the master at making changes and adjustments. He is an exception to being old and set in his ways. But you are right, a lot of older people are set in their ways. But not all older people. I know that you know this. I am not arguing about this at all. I am old, and I probably am a grumpy old fart, set in my ways :-)
I'm actually surprised you guys still think Fox is capable of installing such a system. Yes, people change and so do coaches. Fox is an old style coach and it seems to me he thinks he has it all figured out and I don;t see a lot of bend in him. Either in the way he does things or in the way he is willing to work with players with talent that need discipline. The man is fairly old. People change, but that tends to happen less and less the older you get. JMO
I don't think he is capable. In fact, I'm not sure he's even competent to lead an NFL franchise today. I didn't like the hire then, and sadly he hasn't done much, if anything, to change my mind.
Robert Kraft seems to love football. He even played some football in college (safety and RB), but it was an Ivy League school... he went to Columbia and then to grad school at Harvard.