In a quiet moment two days before being introduced as the latest face of the Bears, newly hired John Fox and his new bosses drove to a humble house in Des Plaines.
They wanted to see Bears owner Virginia McCaskey, who turned 92 two weeks ago and had, rather notoriously, been ‘‘pissed off’’ by the misadventures of the just-completed season. The trip Saturday was new general manager Ryan Pace’s idea.
‘‘To me, it was very telling that Ryan had that idea at all,’’ chairman George McCaskey said. ‘‘And that John looked Mom in the eye and said, ‘We’re going to do our very best to make you proud.’ ’’
Fox delivered a more public reassurance Monday, speaking with the confidence that comes with 13 years as a head coach.
Fox was humble, but he brought a confidence Halas Hall had not seen in years.
‘‘I can’t make any promises, other than I’m going to give it everything I’ve got,’’ said Fox, who got a four-year contract. ‘‘And that trophy is kind of lonely out there in the hallway.’’
That, of course, is the Lombardi Trophy, given to the Super Bowl champion.
Fox made conscious efforts to link to the Bears’ past, invoking Mike Ditka, Brian Urlacher and even George Halas, saying that sharing a job description with him was ‘‘pretty remarkable.’’
Fox saw that history in person Saturday, receiving the eldest McCaskey’s blessing before driving a few blocks with George McCaskey and Pace to get Italian food.
‘‘I heard so many great things about her, and I felt it was important that we do it early on,’’ Pace said. ‘‘It was great. We drove out there — it’s a real unassuming house — and she knew a lot about both of us, which was exciting. And just sitting down and talking with her was really cool.’’
It was one of many meetings Fox, 59, and Pace, 37, will have as they try to repair a 5-11 team and replace coach Marc Trestman and GM Phil Emery, who were fired three weeks ago.
Pace called Fox’s sudden availability a week ago — Fox and Broncos GM John Elway parted ways Jan. 12 because they disagreed about how to improve the team after a playoff loss to the Colts — a game-changer. He cited the Patriots’ Bill Belichick and the Seahawks’ Pete Carroll as coaches who learned from previous experiences as NFL coaches. Fox is the first Bears hire with previous head-coaching experience since the Eisenhower administration.
Pace interviewed Fox on Wednesday at Halas Hall, then flew the next day to Denver with his wife, Stephanie, to woo Fox and his wife, Robin. He had done his homework on Fox, who went 119-89 with two Super Bowl trips as the coach of the Panthers and Broncos, but he wanted to feel it himself before making a decision.
‘‘Just clicked,’’ Fox said. ‘‘So I understand the importance of that relationship — the get-along factor, arm-in-arm in that relationship — and I’m very excited about that moving forward.’’
Fox will spend the next few days finding assistants he can mesh with. He spoke with most of the Bears’ holdovers Saturday — all but two, who were out of town — and is continuing to look outside the building for help.
Pace and Fox are operating with a dry-erase board full of candidates in Pace’s office, but Pace said Fox will have the final decision.
Fox called running the football and stopping the run the ‘‘essence of football,’’ a line that certainly will resonate with Bears fans who think the franchise has lost its way.
‘‘But I can promise you, you better be able to throw it,’’ Fox said. ‘‘Because typically on third down, you’ve gotta throw it. And I can promise you, you better be able to defend the pass. So at the end of the day, to be successful, you better be consistent and good at both.’’
Who will throw it? Fox wouldn’t commit to quarterback Jay Cutler’s future, saying they had yet to speak in person. Fox said Cutler texted him a note of congratulations when he got the job.
Fox also seemed to be noncommittal when discussing scheme preference, though he has played a 4-3 defense in the past.
‘‘We’re going to put our players in the best position for them to have success,’’ he said. ‘‘Whether that’s a 3-4 or 4-3 has not been
determined yet.’’
Many determinations will be made in the coming days and weeks. Predictions won’t be, though, even if Fox oozes confidence.
‘‘I’ve always been of the thoughts of understate, overproduce,’’ Fox said. ‘‘I’ve never predicted records. If I could do that, I’d be at a racetrack somewhere.’’
Email: pfinley@suntimes.com
Twitter: @patrickfinley
