Offensive coordinator, Cutler go way back Gase watched QB mature as player, man

Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase will spend the remainder of spring and all summer developing relationships with every player on that side of the ball.

But there's really only one relationship that matters, and that's the one between Gase and quarterback Jay Cutler.

Over the previous six years, the four Bears offensive coordinators who preceded Gase all have tried to connect with Cutler and coax the untapped talent from his gifted right arm, but none have succeeded.

Gase believes he has a built-in advantage, owing to his prior relationship with Cutler that goes back to before the Vanderbilt QB became the ninth overall pick in the 2006 draft.

"I've known him for a long time," Gase said. "We actually spent a lot of time together when he was coming out of college. He always brings up how I picked him up in his (pre-draft) visit to Detroit."

At the time, Gase was a 28-year-old offensive assistant with the Lions and on the fast track to becoming the Broncos' offensive coordinator in 2013 at age 35. Gase was the just-hired wide receivers coach with the Broncos in Cutler's final days in Denver before the trade to the Bears.

"We had a lot of conversations (in Detroit), and we thought about taking him," Gase said. "And he goes to Denver, and then I end up in Denver, and he's still there. He would always stop me (to talk). I was a familiar face for him. We've almost crossed paths quite a bit. And now that I'm here and we're together, we'll see how far we can take this thing."

Gase has become a rapidly rising star among NFL assistants. He was promoted to quarterbacks coach in Denver when John Fox was hired as the head coach, and two years later ascended to offensive coordinator.

When Gase interviewed for multiple head-coaching jobs in January but wasn't hired, Fox was quick to pursue him for his Bears staff.

"He's a real good young coach," Fox said. "He was brought up right, meaning he's not afraid to work. He works countless hours. He's smart. I think he's really sharp on game day, as far as a play-caller. There's a certain art to that. Those are the things that stick out. He's a good evaluator, which I think is all part of coaching. I've been impressed with what I've seen."

Every coach who has ever worked with Cutler has been impressed with his physical gifts and his intelligence, on and off the field. The perception has always been that such a combination would take Cutler and his team a long way. At age 32, he has gotten as far as the postseason in just one of his nine NFL seasons, but Gase said he sees in Cutler someone who has matured as a player and a man.

"(I've seen) his growth as far as just being a balanced passer," Gase said. "Most of us would say when he first came into the league he was that gunslinger type mentality, and I see a more patient guy. We've just got to get him there for 60 minutes.

"That's going to be a challenge for all of us as an offense, to make sure we're patient throughout the game, we're not forcing things, and we're trying to get the ball to our play-makers."

What else has changed about Cutler?

"He's so mature now compared to what he probably was then," Gase said. "When you get married and you've got two kids right now, you change over time and between the good and bad things that happen over your career. A lot of ups and downs. I think he's ready for a fresh start."

That's something Bears fans have heard frequently since Cutler came to town back in 2009.

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