Jay Cutler is unlikely to ever be able to use any of his former NFL coaches for a reference.
In a startling assessment of his play — over 10 former coaches who worked under Lovie Smith and Marc Trestman — said recently they believe the team can’t consistently compete for championships as long as it fields a lineup with Jay Cutler under center.
That’s likely to explain John Fox doing everything he can to move Cutler. If Cutler is on the Bears’ roster on March 12, $10 million of his 2016 salary is guaranteed.
But that’s precisely what the staff did when Mike Martz served as offensive coordinator during the 2010 and ’11 seasons, according to another former coach, and Cutler and Martz were often at odds.
Although Smith let Martz go after the 2011 season, there’s no denying Cutler played some of his best football as a Bear during a six-game span that year in which he completed 60.7 percent of his throws for 1,359 yards and eight touchdowns with three interceptions for a passer rating of 91.3. Cutler led the Bears to a 5-1 record during that stretch before breaking his right thumb in a Nov. 20 win over the San Diego Chargers.
“We’re going to take our time on this,” Pace said recently. “We really have until mid-March. We’re going to maximize that time and make thorough decisions through this whole process.