NFL Notes: Chicago Bears hopeful for turnaround with new coach John Fox

John Fox has a reputation for turning around teams. The Bears are counting on him to do just that.

Fox was hired as Chicago’s head coach Friday, four days after he and the Denver Broncos parted ways.

He was widely seen as a likely candidate to replace the fired Marc Trestman once he left the Broncos on Monday, given his record and his ties to consultant Ernie Accorsi and new general manager Ryan Pace.

Fox was the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants from 1997 to 2001 when Accorsi was the GM. Saints coach Sean Payton was the offensive coordinator for part of that time, and he is tight with Pace, who was hired out of New Orleans’ front office.

Fox has a 119-89 regular-season record in 13 years with Carolina (2002-10) and Denver (2011-14), with six division titles and seven playoff appearances. He comes to Chicago with a reputation for overseeing turnarounds, and he will try to do just that after the Bears went 5-11 and missed the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years.

Ravens, Rice settle

The Baltimore Ravens have settled their grievance with Ray Rice.

Team President Dick Cass said in a statement Friday that “it’s time to turn the page” with the three-time Pro Bowl running back, who was released after video of him knocking out wife Janay — then his fiancee — in an elevator was released publicly in September.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Rice had been seeking slightly more than $3.5 million for wrongful termination.

Manning passes Wilson

Peyton Manning’s jersey and overall licensed products remain the best sellers among NFL fans.

According to NFL Players Inc., the Denver quarterback has taken the top spot from Seattle QB Russell Wilson in the third fiscal quarter of 2014 for all merchandise. Behind Manning and Colts QB Andrew Luck in the jersey report are Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly, Wilson and Patriots QB Tom Brady.

The Seahawks’ jersey is the top seller, followed by Denver.

Around the league

Adding bird-safe glass to the Vikings’ new stadium could add as much as $60 million in extra costs and delay construction by six months, the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority said in repeating that construction would proceed as planned. … Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins is replacing injured N damukong Suh of Detroit in the Pro Bowl.