Bears' John Fox: Ray McDonald will be held accountable

Ray McDonald has a lot to prove after pushing hard for the Chicago Bears to give him a second chance. 

Head coach John Fox didn't mention a zero-tolerance policy specifically when speaking about McDonald on Wednesday, but he did say that the defensive end will be held accountable after signing a one-year deal with the Bears. 

"I think Ray understands we have a standard," Fox said, according to Scott Brown of ESPN.com. "He's going to need to meet that standard moving forward much like all of the players we'll acquire moving forward."

McDonald was released by the San Francisco 49ers in December after being investigated on suspicion of sexual assault. The case remains open and he has not been charged. 

The Bears were initially opposed to signing McDonald, but his meeting with team chairman George McCaskey convinced them to take a chance on him. 

"I have a lot of respect for the fact that the young man wanted to come in and meet with ownership after he was told no," Fox said. "Flew in on his own dime after George said yes, he'd be willing to talk with him and probably much like people who have spent a lot of time with him felt a little more comfortable moving forward."

McDonald also received a vote of confidence from new Bears defensive coordintator Vic Fangio. The two spent the past four seasons together in San Francisco.

"He thought he was a great teammate," Fox said of what Fangio told him about McDonald. "He thought he was one of the leaders on the defense, he and Justin Smith. His teammates spoke very highly of him, and you're around teammates a lot in this business. I think some of the issues that occurred quite frankly shocked his teammates."