John Fox: ‘Life’s too short’ to be mad at Bears, ready for ‘new chapter’ at ESPN

Typically during this time, John Fox would be watching film on draft prospects or holding meetings with players at minicamp. Instead, the former Bears coach recently returned from a spring-break trip with his family.

The Bears fired Fox on Jan. 1 after three disappointing seasons. But Fox, who had a 14-34 record with the team, insisted that he has no ill feelings toward the organization.

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“Life’s too short,” Fox said Wednesday at a Merging Vets and Players MMA event. “Sometimes setbacks are setups for bigger and better thing to come, so I’ll just attack the next chapter.”

Out of a coaching job, Fox soon will begin his new career as an NFL in-studio analyst for ESPN.

Fox called his transition from coaching to broadcasting interesting and said he’s eager to start his new job.

“It’s a new chapter,” Fox said. “I get a chance to see what it’s like on the other side of the camera.”

Fox was often tight-lipped with the media after games and practices. But now with his new platform, he doesn’t plan to hold back.

“I just get to talk about something I love, and that’s football,” Fox said. “I’m not protecting a team or players or any kind of competitive stuff — so I think it’s a little bit different.”

NFL analyst Jay Glazer thinks fans will see a different side of Fox as an analyst. He said Fox is a “lovable knucklehead.”

Glazer also planned to offer Fox a few words of advice.

“I’m telling Foxy, don’t say any of the words that I would normally say at a bar,” Glazer said. “That’s it. Then you won’t get fined, nothing will happen.”

Miller update

Tight end Zach Miller turned the corner on his recovery a few weeks ago when he finally ditched his crutches.

Miller, who nearly had his left leg amputated after suffering a gruesome injury against the Saints in October, plans to return to the Bears. But he acknowledged that retiring is a “realistic” possibility.

He has been in constant communication with Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace. Miller said they plan to “cross that bridge” about him potentially giving up football when it’s time.

“It’s not time yet,” Miller said. “I’ve got a lot of work to do and a lot of ways to go to get back to playing ball, but everything is good.”