ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- For more than 40 years, Head Coach John Fox knew what he wanted to do with his life. He said his childhood friends would tell you he had a plan for his career since he was 11 years old.
He was not the type of kid to wear a plastic red helmet hoping to one day become a fire fighter. He had no aspirations of becoming an astronaut sipping Tang from within an international space station. Fox said he always "kind of" knew that he would play football as long as he could and then transition to coaching.
When the Denver Broncos agreed to terms with Fox as the 14th head coach in the history of the franchise, he began his second stint leading a football team at the highest level of the sport. On Friday, Fox introduced himself in his first press conference as the new head coach.
"I was not one of those guys who changed majors or made a life change," Fox said. "Coaches were big influences on me, and I actually wanted to be a high school coach and teacher."
In a 22-year NFL career, Fox has far exceeded his early goal of coaching teenagers on Friday nights. He served as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers for the past nine years, and before that worked as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants for five years.
When the Panthers did not renew Fox's contract, he immediately jumped at the next challenge in Denver. After Carolina finished last season with a 2-14 record, he could have booked a vacation or explored positions with less responsibility. But that would not have fulfilled Fox.
He wanted to prove he was the same coach that took the Panthers to a Super Bowl in 2003, the same coach that posted two 11-win seasons and two NFC South titles.
"I did have options, but I am extremely competitive," Fox said. "That is probably all the more reason why I am here today. I wanted to jump back in and erase that. It would be no different than if I were the head coach here and we finished with that same record. I would be just as enthusiastic to get it back rolling again."
Part of that process is instilling Fox's style of football into the organization.
General Manager Brian Xanders said one of the coach's most appealing traits during the interview process was the coach's insistence on getting back to the fundamentals of blocking and tackling. Working under four-time Super-Bowl Champion Chuck Noll in Pittsburgh, Fox spent three years coaching the defensive backs for the Steelers and said Noll taught him an appreciation for the basics.
Fox's experiences with Noll and the time he spent coordinating one of the NFL's most disruptive defenses in New York stood out to Xanders as much as the coach's accolades with the Panthers.
"His early NFL experience was so strong. That was probably something that we didn't know, in terms of the magnitude that it had on him," Xanders said. "Then he gets hired away to the Panthers. There's a reason he got hired (then) and there's a reason he got hired this week."
Starting his coaching career in 1979 at United States International University in San Diego, Fox said his humble beginnings and rise through the coaching ranks helped make him the well-rounded coach he is today.
Throughout his journey as a football coach, Fox has brought along an infectious enthusiasm that helped him impress the front office brass in Denver. Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway and Xanders both spoke to the glowing comments they received from all of Fox's references.
When Xanders worked for the Atlanta Falcons, he said he always observed Fox's positive influence on his players for the division rival Panthers.
"I knew him from afar as an energetic, positive guy," Xanders said. "Our research was strong that the players love to play for him. The coaches love to coach with him. He creates a lot of loyalty and performance, so it becomes like a family."
