Bears hire Bates as quarterbacks coach
New Bears quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates’ biggest claim to fame is the positive relationship he has with the team’s most important offensive player, Jay Cutler.
“I’m very excited to be working with Jeremy Bates again,” Cutler said in a report on the Bears’ website. “We got the right guy for the job.”
With Bates as Cutler’s position coach in Denver in 2008, the quarterback was voted to his only Pro Bowl, throwing for a career-best 4,526 yards, with 25 touchdowns, 18 interceptions and a passer rating of 86.0. Cutler also established Broncos passing records for completions (384), attempts (616), yards and 300-yard games (8) that season. He was sacked only 11 times while operating an offense that ranked second in the NFL in total yards.
“His history with Jay was a big thing,” coach Lovie Smith said. “And not just history with Jay but a good history, a productive history with him helping Jay as a quarterback.
“I did a lot of research and I think Jeremy is a perfect fit.”
Cutler gives Bates credit for his rapid development as a starter in Denver, especially his last two years with the Broncos (2007-08), when he threw for 8,029 yards and 45 touchdowns with 32 interceptions.
“He was very vital in my growth and my experience as a quarterback there,” Cutler said. “The last couple years he had full control of my development and our plays coming in.
“He’s a grinder. He’s a guy that’s going to work extremely hard to find weaknesses in defenses, and he’s going to be able to present it to us in a way that we understand and will be able to make plays where we can take advantage of those weaknesses.”
The Bears interviewed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Greg Olson for the position late last month, but he turned down their offer to take the same job with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Olson, the Bears’ quarterbacks coach in 2003, has previous experience as an offensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams, Detroit Lions and, most recently, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bears were also rumored to be interested in Alex Van Pelt. He was the Bucs’ quarterbacks coach the past two seasons under Olson, but they were fired along with head coach Raheem Morris and his entire staff after last season’s 5-11 record.
“Did we look at other guys?” Smith said. “Yes, we did. Every time we have an opening, I look at everybody available. I even waited to see who would be available so I could see what the pool really looked like.
“Even though we had only brought in one guy (Olson), I had been talking to a lot of guys. But in the end, it was Jeremy by a landslide.”
Bates, 35, flew to Tampa last week to interview with Smith and then met with offensive coordinator Mike Tice at Halas Hall. His duties are expected to include the role of passing game coordinator. That was not specifically mentioned in Tuesday’s news release, although that’s the way the job was initially described by the team. Tice will handle the offensive play-calling duties.
Bates began his NFL coaching career with the Buccaneers as offensive quality control coach (2002-03) and assistant quarterbacks coach (2004). He was the New York Jets QB coach (2005) before spending three years with Cutler in Denver. He began as an offensive assistant in 2006 and then coached wide receivers in 2007 and quarterbacks in 2008.
Bates was the University of Southern Cal’s assistant head coach/quarterbacks in 2009 and the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator in 2010. He was out of football last season.
In college, Bates was a quarterback at Tennessee (1995) and Rice (1997 and 1999).
“The one year he was a coordinator, he led their team to a division title, and he just ran up against a juggernaut in the Chicago Bears,” Smith joked. “We can’t hold that against him. I know he’s real excited about being a part of the group and helping Mike Tice and the rest of the offensive staff get the job done.”
The Bears defeated the Seahawks 35-24 in a divisional-round playoff game at Soldier Field on Jan. 16, 2011. In Bates’ one season as offensive coordinator, the Seahawks were 23rd in scoring, 28th in total yards, 31st in rushing yards, 29th in average gain per rush, 19th in passing yards, 27th in average gain per pass and 22nd in third-down efficiency.
Bates’ hiring leaves just one opening on Smith’s staff, an offensive line coach to replace Tice, who will continue to be closely involved with that position group in addition to his coordinator duties.
Ÿ Follow Bob#146;s Bears reports via Twitter @BobLeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.