This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Denver • Well, how's that heart feel now, John Fox?
"It feels great," the indefatigable coach said after Denver's 26-16 thumping of New England on Sunday sent the Broncos to their first Super Bowl in 15 years.
"It's felt great for about eight weeks," Fox said. "Not so much before that."
Seventy-nine days before Peyton Manning punched the Broncos' ticket to the Super Bowl with an emphatic win over nemesis Tom Brady in the 15th matchup between the quarterback greats — Fox lay on a golf course near his offseason home in North Carolina and feared he was dying.
"God, you get me out of this and I'll get it fixed now," he remembered praying.
Fox had been born with a defect in his aortic valve, which regulates blood flow from the heart into the aorta, the major blood vessel that brings blood into the body. He'd known he needed to get it fixed ever since it was discovered in a routine physical in 1997 while he was working for the New York Giants.
It progressively got worse and he realized last summer he'd have to have it fixed soon, and he hoped to have the operation after this year's Super Bowl.
Those plans changed that day on the links, and 48 hours later, he was in the operating room.
Four days later, he was out of the hospital, but in no time he was watching cut-ups of practices on his iPad playbook to help formulate game plans with his defensive coordinator and interim coach, Jack Del Rio, and was in constant communication with his captains.
Fox returned to work a month later, his famous enthusiasm and energy greater than ever thanks to his new valve, which is the size of a 50-cent piece instead of a pinhead.
"Just standing here feels pretty good because I almost wasn't," Fox said.
Fox guided the Broncos (15-3) through a minefield of traps this season, from the fax fiasco that cost him locker-room leader Elvis Dumervil, to Von Miller's drama-filled season that began with a drug suspension and ended with a torn ACL, the headliner of an injury epidemic that claimed five defensive starters.
Fox's dogged determination kept the Broncos' rolling toward the Super Bowl.
"He's our leader," receiver Wes Welker said. "Having him back with his fire, passion and encouragement, it's huge."