Chicago Bears

John Fox responds to Mike McCarthy's smack talk

Published Sep. 8, 2015 9:18 a.m. ET

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The Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers enjoy the NFL’s longest rivalry, going all the way back to 1921, so it makes sense that over the years some serious smack talk has occurred between members of the respective, longtime organizations.

With the teams renewing the rivalry with a Week 1 showdown, the trash talk trend continued when Packers head coach Mike McCarthy delivered a snarky salvo on the hated Bears during a speech last week at the team’s annual annual “Welcome Back Luncheon.”

“We will proudly stand as the 95th team in the history of the Green Bay Packers,” McCarthy said before lowering the boom, “when we kick Chicago’s a**!”

First-year Bears head coach John Fox didn’t bite and seemed more inclined to tone down the rhetoric, instead opting to kill the Packers with kindness by complimenting the team.

“I looked at the tape,” Fox said Monday, via an ESPN report. “They should be confident.”

Fox’s comments obviously are about as far away from “Bulletin Board Material” as possible, and for good reason. Because he’s right. The Packers should feel good about their prospects heading into Soldier Field. The Packers have owned the Bears in recent years, winning 11 of the past 13 games.

McCarthy, to his credit, attempted to downplay his fiery comments on Monday, saying it was all for show.

“I don’t really talk to our football team the way I talk to the Chamber of Commerce. It was all in fun, but I think it’s really just an example of why you shouldn’t say things like that in public,” he said. “The reality of it is, it is really the way the game is looked upon. It’s a great rivalry. I’m sure a lot worse is said in private about the opposing teams and so forth, but it is with great respect.

“It’s the oldest rivalry in the National Football League. In my opinion, I think it’s the best rivalry game that I’ve played in. So playing down there opening day, it’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s a big challenge.”

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