Understand that John Fox is old school. He’s 62-years old and was raised in the NFL by the late, great Chuck Noll. That was a man known for being more about logic and less about emotion when it came to players. He didn’t praise or criticize much. He instead focused on helping players to find ways on how they could improve from one game to the next. Fox is a bit more laid back than Noll was, but he carries on a similar tradition.
He’ll say if a player played well. He’ll say if he needs to correct some things. This is how he believes a head coach is supposed to operate. Never give the players too much of either side. Praise them but make it clear they can be better. Criticize them but remind that they know how to play this game better than most.
However, every so often a certain player comes along that those traditional rules don’t apply to. Somebody who just has something about them. An infectious personality and charisma that gets people feeling better about the team and themselves. Not even the coaches are immune to it, and now Fox has fallen victim too. (continue to next page)