In 2017, we wondered if John Fox was on board with the drafting of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. A Chicago Tribune report seems to confirm he wasn't.

At the time, the Bears were still basking in the afterglow of their most daring draft move in many years, trading up to the No. 2 pick to select North Carolina’s Trubisky. Their social media team posted a behind-the-scenes look at the Bears’ front-office reaction the following morning that April.

It’s the kind of content fans (and media) crave, and it told a fascinating story of how the Bears viewed their future starting quarterback.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace led the convocation in the team’s draft room, rallying his scouting apostles on the franchise-altering move they had just pulled off the night before.

“Number one quarterback for me,” Pace said. “Number one quarterback for Josh. Number one quarterback for Mark. Dowell’s number one quarterback. Over-the-top scout’s number one quarterback. Area scout’s number one quarterback.

“That’s conviction. On a quarterback.”

Josh was Bears director of player personnel Josh Lucas. Mark was director of college scouting Mark Sadowski. Dowell was former Bears offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains.

The Bears’ area scout at the time was Chris Prescott, who in 2018 was promoted to the role of national scout. An over-the-top scout is usually a higher-ranking scout who cross-checks schools at various pre-draft processes; Pace did not name which member of the staff this was.

From inside the Draft room

to the congratulatory phone call,

you don't get more behind-the-scenes access than this.#NFLDraft #BearsDraft pic.twitter.com/B7dDZF0Nmz — Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 28, 2017

One big name missing from Pace’s list: then-head coach John Fox.

It struck us as quite telling at the time that Pace did not appear to single out Fox in that speech. Did he forget? Was the video edited in such a way that Fox’s name was omitted? Or, did Fox have another QB he preferred?

Those were the questions we had at the time. Fox’s second season as Bears head coach saw a regression, from 6-10 in 2015 to 3-13 in 2016. That losing season put the Bears in a position to more readily move up one slot for Trubisky, and it also put Fox on the proverbial hot seat entering 2017.

By year’s end, he would be out as coach in a year where nominal starter Mike Glennon was benched after four games and the rookie Trubisky was inserted into the lineup in Week 5, perhaps sooner than the Bears hoped or expected.

We’ve since learned who Fox preferred as his QB choice — and it appears he might have been more on the right track than many in the Bears’ front office.

View photos The Chicago Bears were not unanimous in their support of QB Mitchell Trubisky before making him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images) More

Who John Fox wanted in the 2017 NFL draft

In researching a story about Trubisky last week, we reached out to Fox — now serving as an analyst for ESPN — to see if he might be willing to contribute to Yahoo Sports’ story. ESPN, on behalf of Fox, “respectfully declined” to be interviewed.

We wanted to know who Fox had as his QB1 in that draft class and it’s understandable that Fox might not want to make some of his former coworkers and his former QB look bad by touting someone other prospect he preferred.

On the night the Bears took Trubisky, Pace met with the media and said: “John and I are arm in arm in all these decisions. So we talked about this thoroughly, and we’re connected on this. John is just as excited as I am.”

But the Tribune ran a long feature this week on Trubisky, the 2017 draft and the effect it has had on the Bears’ franchise, and there was a stark revelation.

Fox wanted Clemson’s Deshaun Watson.

Many in league circles suspected this was the case, but Fox is not believed to have said this previously on the record. The Tribune story did not quote Fox directly, and it’s unclear if the writers spoke with him for this story. But the way the story was written, you can pretty much accept it as fact: Watson was Fox’s first choice.

Story continues