John Fox to Have Surgery on Heart Valve, Will Miss Several Weeks

On Saturday afternoon there were reports Denver Broncos coach John Fox suffered a heart attack while playing golf in North Carolina on the team’s bye week. Those initial reports proved incorrect, although the 58-year-old was taken to the hospital for feeling light-headed.

It turns out Fox will have “aortic heart valve replacement” next week and miss the Broncos next several games. Early speculation is Fox could miss anywhere in the range of 6-8 weeks.

Jay Glazer broke the news about the surgery late Saturday night:

"Just spoke with John Fox. He’s having a procedure on his aortic valve on Tuesday in North Carolina. He will remain there for 2 weeks and miss about a month to 6 weeks Fox told me,”it’s something I’ve known I needed to take care of for a while. It’s ironic this happened when I came to meet with the surgeon. I was hoping to wait but it’s better to be smart about this.”"

The Broncos are off this week and are 7-1 on the season. Their next game is Nov. 10 against the Chargers.

There is speculation that defensive co-ordinator Jack Del Rio would be the interim head coach, but nothing has been confirmed as of Sunday morning.