GREEN BAY – John Fox will try to do in his first try what his two predecessors weren't able to do in any of the Bears' past five tries, which is to say beat the Green Bay Packers in Chicago.
The league's most time-honored rivalry kicks off the 2015 season on Sunday at Soldier Field, with a new coach trying to make the Bears an NFC North title contender, and the Packers trying to score win No. 1 in their quest to win a fifth consecutive North title.
Once upon a time it was Lombardi vs. Halas, Hornung vs. Butkus, Nitschke vs. Sayers, and Ditka vs. Robinson. Now, it's two coaches that passed in the night a long time ago as young college assistants on the rise, and two quarterbacks whose careers have been punctuated by this rivalry.
Bears quarterback Jay Cutler has experienced little in the way of good times when the Packers and Bears have played. He hasn't scored a win over the Packers in Chicago since early in the 2010 season, when the Bears would win the NFC North title but lose at home to the Packers in the NFC title game. It's an understatement to say Cutler has struggled against the Packers.
"I'm not really getting into that. All of that stuff is in the past," Cutler told Packers media during a conference call on Wednesday.
Enjoy these memorable photos from Packers-Bears matchups in Chicago, including facts and stats from the Dope Sheet. Photos by AP, Jim Biever and Vern Biever.
Sept. 28, 2014 - QB Aaron Rodgers completes 22 of 28 passes for 302 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. The Packers won, 38-17.
Dec. 29, 2013 - QB Aaron Rodgers returns from injury to complete 25 of 39 passes for 318 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Packers won, 33-28.
Dec. 29, 2013 - Rodgers connects with WR Randall Cobb, who was playing in his first game since Oct. 13, on a 48-yard game-winning touchdown on fourth-and-8 in the final minute. Cobb recorded two receptions and both were touchdowns. WR Jordy Nelson finished with a 10 receptions for 161 yards (16.1 avg.). The Packers won, 33-28.
Dec. 29, 2013 - Green Bay clinched its third straight NFC North title with the 33-28 win at Soldier Field.
Jan. 23, 2011 - DT B.J. Raji reacts after intercepting and running the ball back for a touchdown against the Bears during the second half of the NFC Championship game in Chicago.
Jan. 23, 2011 - B.J Raji celebrates with CB Sam Shields after returning an interception for a touchdown in the NFC Championship game.
Nov. 5, 1939 - Packers Hall of Famer, RB Clarke Hinkle, runs around Bears DE Hampton Pool at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Packers lost, 30-27. This Sunday will mark game No. 189 in the NFL's oldest rivalry. The Bears hold a 92-88-6 edge in the series, which includes two playoff games (1-1).
Dec. 31, 2006 - QB Brett Favre is lifted in the air by teammate Donald Driver after the Packers 26-7 win over the Bears in Chicago. Watching are Packers' WR Ruvell Martin (82), CB Al Harris (31) and FB William Henderson (33).
Nov. 7, 1971 - Donny Anderson holds for Kicker Lou Michaels as he kicks a 22-yard field goal with less than a minute left to beat the Bears, 17-14, in Chicago.
Jan. 23, 2011 - QB Aaron Rodgers scrambles and runs for a touchdown past Bears safety Danieal Manning during the first half of the NFC Championship game in Chicago.
Nov. 5, 1939 - Packers RB Clarke Hinkle runs upfield against the Bears at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Ill. The Bears won, 30-27.
Nov. 23, 1992 QB Brett Favre dives for a fourth-quarter touchdown as Bears S Mark Carrier arrives too late. The Packers won, 17-3, as Brett Favre got his first career win over the Bears.
Nov. 22, 1992 - Brett Favre celebrates his fourth-quarter touchdown run as T Ken Ruettgers (75) gives him a hug. At left is Bears CB Lemuel Stinson. The Packers won, 17-3, at Soldier Field.
Dec. 3, 2000 - An official breaks up a scuffle between the Bears' Ray McElroy and Packers S LeRoy Butler during the third quarter in Chicago, Dec. 3, 2000. The Packers won, 28-6.
Sept. 29, 2003 - Packers CB Michael Hawthorne goes face-to-face with Bears CB Charles Tillman during an altercation in the second quarter as the field judge comes in to break it up on Monday Night Football, Sept. 29, 2003, at Soldier Field in Chicago. The Packers won big, 38-23. The first two players in NFL history to get ejected were a Bears player and a Packers player for fighting, in 1924.
Dec. 14, 1941 - Bears Hall of Fame G Danny Fortmann (21) and Bears TE John Siegel (6) react to a loose ball during a 33-14 Packers loss to the Bears in the 1941 Western Division playoff game played at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Nov. 23, 1986 - Bears RB Walter Payton and QB Jim McMahon go after Packers LB John Dorsey after a fumble by the Bears' William Perry during first quarter in Chicago.
Nov. 14, 1976 - Hall of Fame RB Walter Payton (34) runs into the tackle of DB Perry Smith (45) during the first quarter in Chicago. Other Packers visible are DT Mike McCoy (76), DE Alden Roche (87) and DL Dave Pureifory (75).
Dec. 31, 2006 - QB Brett Favre runs out of the tunnel during introductions at Soldier Field. The Packers won their season finale, 26-7.
Sept. 25, 2011 - QB Aaron Rodgers leads his teammates onto Soldier Field before a game against the Bears. The Packers won, 27-17, and started the year 13-0. This Sunday will mark the 52nd time the two teams have met in the month of September with Chicago holding a 24-23-4 advantage. Only six of those September matchups took place in Chicago, and the Packers were 4-2 in those games.
Nov. 27, 1967 - Bears LB Dick Butkus shakes hands with Packers RB Jim Grabowski after their game in Chicago. Butkus and Grabowski were teammates at the University of Illinois. Green Bay beat Chicago that game, 17-13.
Sept. 11, 1995 - Bears WR Michael Timpson (83) is upended as he is hit between Packers RB Travis Jervey, left, and Joe Kelly during the first quarter in Chicago on Monday Night Football, Sept. 11, 1995.
A general view of Soldier Field during the Chicago Bears-Packers game on October 6, 1996. The Packers won, 37-6, and also won Super Bowl XXXI later that year.
Jan. 23, 2011 - A general view of the renovated Soldier Field during the kickoff of the NFC Championship game between the Packers and Bears.The Packers won, 21-14.
Dec. 31, 2006 - QB Brett Favre (4) talks with Bears LB Brian Urlacher (54) after the Packers 26-7 win in Chicago.
Jan. 23, 2011 - Bears LB Brian Urlacher looks over at QB Aaron Rodgers during the second half of the NFC Championship game in Chicago. The Packers won, 21-14, and advanced to Super Bowl XLV.
Nov. 26, 1967 - Coach Vince Lombardi shares a laugh with Bears Coach George Halas before a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The Packers defeated the Bears 17-13.
Sept. 25, 2011 - Coach Mike McCarthy greets Bears Coach Lovie Smith at midfield after a Packers 27-17, win at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Dec. 16, 2012 - QB Aaron Rodgers throws the ball before Bears' defenders arrive. The Packers won, 21-13, to clinch the NFC North title. In the 12 seasons of the NFC North (2002-13), the Packers (seven) and Bears (three) have accounted for 10 division titles.
Dec. 4, 1960 - Packers HB Paul Hornung (5) finds running room for a six-yard gain against the Bears during the third quarter in Chicago. Packers G Fred "Fuzzy" Thurston (36) can be seen blocking Bears T Earl Leggett (71). The Packers won, 41-13. Other Packers visible are E Gary Knaflec and WR Boyd Dowler.
Dec. 16, 2012 - OLB Mike Neal celebrates after sacking Bears QB Jay Cutler in the second half of the game in Chicago.The Packers won, 21-13, to clinch the NFC North division title. Nine of the last 12 contests between the Packers and Bears (including postseason) have been decided by eight points or less, including the 2013 regular-season finale that Green Bay won by five to win the NFC North.
Dec. 14, 1941 - Hugh Gallarneau (8) of the Bears stumbles as Packers' defenders try to take him down during a game in Chicago, Dec. 14, 1941. The Bears won, 33-14.
Dec. 31, 2006 - Brett Favre walks off the field as he is swarmed by the media after the win against the Bears at Soldier Field. The Packers won, 26-7. This Sunday will mark game No. 189 in the NFL's oldest rivalry. The Bears hold a 92-88-6 edge in the series, which includes two playoff games (1-1).
Jan. 23, 2011 - QB Aaron Rodgers is surrounded by media as he walks off the field after winning the NFC Championship game against Bears at Soldier Field.
Dec. 14, 1970 - Packers CB Al Matthews and Bears WR George Farmer battle for the football in mid-air from a pass by Bears QB Jack Concannon.
Dec. 31, 2006 - Packers CB Patrick Dendy (43) scores past Bears T Fred Miller (69) after intercepting a pass from Bears QB Rex Grossman during the second quarter of the game in Chicago. Dendy's interception was Grossman's third of the first half. The Packers won, 26-7.
Dec. 27, 1998 - RB Dorsey Levens (25) rushes up the middle against the Bears at Soldier Field. The Packers won the season finale, 16-13, and advanced to the NFC Wild Card Playoff.
Sept. 29, 2003 - Packers RB Ahman Green breaks a tackle of Bears LB Brian Urlacher in the first half during the Packers 38-23 win over the Bears on Monday Night Football, at Soldier Field in Chicago. Green rushed for 179 yards on 19 carries in the Packers 38-23 win.
Oct. 31, 1965 - LB Dave Robinson returns an interception 41-yards against the Bears at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Jan. 2, 2004 - WR Javon Walker celebrates a touchdown against the Bears at Soldier Field. The Packers won, 31-14. In the 12 seasons of the NFC North (2002-13), the Packers (seven) and Bears (three) have accounted for 10 division titles.
Cutler's voice resonated with hope. It's built on Fox, who took teams in Carolina and Denver to the Super Bowl in his previous two head coaching stops.
How do you turn a team around?
"Changing the culture, changing how you do things, getting that entrenched. It's about getting the best talent you can find and motivating them to be the best they can be every day," Fox said.
"The first time he walked through the doors, he talked to the team and you could just sense that with him," Cutler said. "There was a different energy about him. He's got a winning philosophy. He's done it in the past. Guys bought into him immediately and we try to improve upon that every day."
An upset win over the Packers would help Fox sell his program to his players and the team's fans.
"How fast that occurs is based on the people you have. Getting the right people, checking your egos at the door, working at it," Fox said.
The coaches aren't the only new faces in Chicago. Twenty-one players are new, but it's a trio of familiar names on whom the Bears hang their hope on offense: Cutler, running back Matt Forte and tight end Martellus Bennett.
"I've got four practice games to evaluate, and he hasn't turned it over in those," Fox said of Cutler. "Up to now, we've been pretty good. Now the real test comes."
"At this point in my career, we can't change anything that's happened in the past six years," Cutler said. "There's a real good energy here and we just have to buy in as a team and try to get better."
The Bears defense is in the hands of coordinator Vic Fangio, who the Packers know all too well from Fangio's days with the 49ers in recent years.
"He's got skins on the wall. He's been in the league a long time," Fox, a defensive-minded coach, said of Fangio.
"They've had great success as of late. I think they've beaten us five straight here," Fox said of the Packers vs. the Bears. "It's a real challenge and one we're looking forward to."
