If the Bears lose next week, John Fox should be considered in the hot seat in Chicago

Ryan Pace was hired by the Bears brass to come in and pick up all the pieces that the former regime left laying all over the damn place, and the first-time general manager knew he couldn't do it alone.

As it happens, veteran head coach John Fox was made available after a surprising release from the Denver Broncos, and Pace wasted no time in getting Fox flown into Chicago for a job interview that basically ended with a contract offer.

It is worth noting that, except the time George Halas re-hired himself as head coach, the Bears had never hired a head coach with previous NFL head coaching experience. John Fox had that experience, and a successful NFL pedigree to boot.

The first year was ugly, which we all knew it would be, but the team at least put up a fight most weeks. They had offensive and defensive schemes that changed each week depending on the opponent, and despite losing more games than they won, the players were completely bought in.

But year two of the Fox regime has taken a turn for the worse, and it doesn't mater that the roster is depleted, or that the team is still in rebuilding mode, or that there is a lot of exciting, young players on the team that have a very bright future.  It doesn't matter, because of the nature of how the Chicago Bears have lost their first three games this season.

And if they lose a fourth in a row, John Fox should be on the hot seat.

Aside from the first two quarters of the Bears versus Texans game in Week 1, the Bears haven't really even been competitive with anyone. The offense isn't moving the ball, the defense isn't stopping anyone on the ground or in the air, and the players are coming out flat quarter after quarter.

With the penalties and busted plays, they're also coming out unprepared.  And those are two things that fall directly on the head coach, despite the injury situation, roster depth, etc... Energy and preparedness.

Not to mention his incredibly conservative approach to clock management. Case in point: On Sunday night, the Cowboys were about to score with just under two minutes left in the 1st half. Fox had all his timeouts, and if he had called one of them after Dak Prescott's first down run, then another on the next play, Chicago would have gotten the ball back with about 1:30 and one timeout.

But Fox didn't call a timeout, and when the Cowboys did score two plays later, the Bears got the ball back with under a minute to go... THEN they tried mounting an offensive drive, but guess what: They ran out of time.  That is a picture-perfect example of poor clock management.  And we won't even mention his decision to not kick an onside kick with about 6 minutes left in the game after the Bears scored a touchdown that brought them within 14 points.

And one thing we know: If a head coach is on the hot seat, then likely one or two of his coordinators will be as well.

Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains is not having the success that Chicago had hoped for when he was promoted from quarterbacks coach after Adam Gase left for the Miami Dolphins. Loggains was given the job for two reasons: 1- Because he would largely run the same offense Gase had run, and 2- Because Loggains was the man responsible for Jay Cutler's great year in 2015.

But none of that matters now, as the offense has stalled since Cutler was knocked out after 7 quarters of football. Brian Hoyer is a backup quarterback playing like a backup, but Loggains isn't finding any success running or passing the football.

Right now, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is the only one with any wiggle room, but even he won't have much left if he can't put something together against the Lions this coming Sunday.

If John Fox is wanting to have a third year in Chicago, he needs to turn things around, and fast. Another loss this coming Sunday in Chicago, and his time as head coach of the Bears could officially be put on notice.

Stay tuned...