Source: John Fox appeals fine

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Denver Broncos coach John Fox filed an appeal Friday with the NFL office contesting his $30,000 fine for inappropriate behavior toward the replacement officiating crew, according to a league source.

Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio is expected to follow Fox's lead and appeal his $25,000 fine, according to a source.

There's a sense among the coaches recently fined for misconduct with the replacement officials that their fines could disappear -- like the replacement officials themselves. But a league source says the fines for Fox, Bill Belichick, Del Rio and Kyle Shanahan will not be rescinded.

A Broncos source said Fox never previously has been fined in his 24 years in the NFL and believed the presence of replacement officials working NFL games at the time of his incident was a factor the league should consider in behavior that is atypical of the coach and others who were disciplined.

"It's not like one freaked-out coach went nuts and there hasn't been another problem in the NFL," the source said. "This could have turned into 20 fines a week with coaches because they were all losing their minds."

Fox and defensive coordinator Del Rio were fined a total of $55,000 for arguing with the officials during a six-minute delay in Denver's loss to Atlanta in Week 2.

The league office called the Denver sideline during the game with a warning and league executive Ray Anderson followed up last week, informing all teams that the replacement officials were to be treated with respect or else there would be consequences.

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Ed Werder

ESPN NFL Insider

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• Covers NFL for ESPN shows, including Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, NFL Live and SportsCenter
• Covers the Dallas Cowboys for ESPNDallas.com