ENGLEWOOD , Colorado — For anyone who subscribes to the theory the Broncos might be rattled by the playoff-hardened Patriots in Sunday’s AFC Championship game — with all the pressure on them as the No. 1 seed, playing at home, 15 years removed from their last Super Bowl, trying to win one for Peyton Manning, etc. — look into the eyes of John Fox and it’ll change your mind.
The Broncos’ 58-year-old head coach does not rattle easily, nor will his team.
The best evidence of that is how the Broncos handled the startling four-game absence of Fox after he had to have a sudden heart procedure on Nov. 4.
The Broncos were 7-1 and in their bye week when Fox, playing golf at home in Charlotte, N.C., thought he was having a heart attack. When he went to the hospital, it was determined it was not a heart attack, but that he needed an immediate procedure to repair an aortic valve.
In an incredible twist of fate that day, Fox decided to play golf with some friends on the course adjacent to his home instead of going out on his fishing boat.
“I’d have been 60 miles out in the woods,” Fox said of his location had he been on the boat. “They might never have found me.”
Fox recalled feeling dizzy after he made a chip within two feet for par on the 14th hole at Quail Hollow and, as he lay down on the green having difficulty breathing he said a prayer: “God, you get me out of this and I’ll get it fixed now.”
Two days later, he underwent open-heart surgery, causing him to be away from his team for four weeks. Surely, thoughts of whether he would be able to come back at all had to creep into both his mind and those of his players.
It was a rare spell of adversity that could have derailed Denver, but it didn’t — because of Fox’s strength and because of the solid foundation of locker room leadership he had built in Denver.
“When you’ve got somebody on offense like [quarterback] Peyton Manning and someone on defense like [cornerback] Champ Bailey and guys like [linebacker] Shaun Phillips — guys who have played football in this league at a high level — their words hit home when coach Fox was away,’’ defensive tackle Terrance Knighton said.
“When coach Fox wasn’t here, those guys stepped up and said, ‘We’ll lead the way; we’ll show you how it’s done.’
“Those things that coach Fox passed on to leaders, the leaders passed on to the team. We just had to be strong for him, because we knew he was watching us play from the hospital and we didn’t want to add any more stress. We had to go out there and handle business.’’
They did, going 3-1 in Fox’s absence with defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio stepping in as the interim head coach. The only loss in that stretch, in fact, was a 34-31 defeat on Nov. 24 at New England.
John Elway, the Broncos’ vice president of football operations, was enjoying his bye week at the Breeders Cup when he got the call about Fox’s emergency.
“I was about ready to walk up to the [betting] window,’’ Elway said. “Needless to say, I missed four races.”
Guard Zane Beadles said the players communicated with Fox while he was away via Skype, which eased their mind to see that he was OK.
“Seeing his energy and the way he was talking you could tell that he was the same old guy, and I think he’s come back stronger and better than he was before,” Beadles said.
“When he came back he was the same guy when we left before the bye week,’’ receiver Eric Decker said.
“He’s like a father figure to us,’’ Knighton said. “He jokes a lot with the guys. He makes the work environment a fun place to be where everybody wants to be here. His energy and his presence relaxes the team, because he’s never uptight.’’
The Broncos were not uptight in their most anxious moments this season with their leader lying in a hospital, and they will not be uptight on Sunday facing the Patriots. Thanks, in very much part, to Fox.