Dec 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) against the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. The Lions defeated the Bears 20-14. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports
As John Fox and Ryan Pace were still digesting their Eggs Benedict or chocolate chip pancakes following their breakfast for free agent quarterback Josh McCown, neither member of the new Chicago Bears regime gave Jay Cutler a vote of confidence to be the Bears quarterback for next season. By not saying anything about Cutler’s future with the Bears, Pace and Fox spoke volumes.
If the new Bears brass was convinced that Jay Cutler was their guy, you’d think they would put that issue to bed so they could focus on the business of rebuilding the roster. Fox recognized that the media wouldn’t relent:
"“So we’re going to ask this about eight different ways?” the Bears coach said. “Or what are we going to do?”"
The Bears were understandably vague about Cutler’s status when they took their respective jobs, but after over a month to look at tape and meet with him, you’d think they’d have made up their minds. There doesn’t seem to be any sense of urgency:
"“We’re not up against a deadline,” Fox said. “My experience has always been to be still, gather the information and then in turn use it to make better decisions. So we’re in that process. And we’ll keep you posted.”"
I wonder how Jay feels about “we’ll keep you posted” line from Fox? Let’s ask Josh McDaniels. GM Ryan Pace tried to temper expectations about Cutler, saying the process is ongoing:
Pace on being non-committal to Cutler: "There is a time frame, but I think it's intelligent and smart of us to utilize that entire time."
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) February 18, 2015
Besides the politicking and strategic reasons for keeping mum on the Cutler topic, I just don’t understand what’s going to change. Pace acknowledged the physical talent is there with Cutler, but he wants to get to know him as a person before he commits. Oh great.If he wants to get to know him as a person the next question is “Which NFL city will the Cutlers will be bringing their un-vaccinated pups next?”
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But it’s not just what Pace and Fox didn’t say about Cutler, it’s about what they said about their breakfast buddy Josh McCown, who described his meeting with the Bears as “great.” John Fox confirmed the meeting and acknowledged an interest in the free agent:
"“There’s obviously interest,” Fox said. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have met with him. He’s a guy who’s had opportunities as a starter in this league. He has served as a backup. I think he’s the right kind of guy, I know, from my perspective that you want on your football team. He’s got relationships with a lot of people in this league who have high opinions of him. So we’ll see where that goes.”"
Ryan Pace said McCown could be either a starter or a backup, in case you were wondering what the GM thinks about him.
Next: Bears Should Welcome Josh McCown Back with Open Arms
Does it make sense to consider McCown if you’re already committed a boatload of money to Cutler for 2015?
To me, I think the decision on Cutler has been made. The non-commitment of the new Bears regime sure smells like Jay Cutler will be changing zip codes and the coach killer will get killed himself. At this point, the Bears are just waiting out the market to see if they could get something – ANYTHING – before the March 10th date when they have to make the move official.