The best thing would be for Jay Cutler and Adam Gase to stay together and let their quarterback-offensive coordinator relationship grow.
The next best thing would be for Gase to get a head-coaching job and allow us to see if Cutler could be the same player in 2016 that he was in 2015.
The Bears fan in you surely is rooting for the former. The observer of life in me wouldn’t mind seeing the outcome of the latter.
Cutler just finished a nice season. His passer rating was a career-high 92.3, and his 2.3 interception percentage was a career-low in a season in which he played at least 11 games. The question, of course, is how much influence Gase had in taking the itch out of Cutler’s trigger finger.
Was a steady 2015 just a statistical fluke in a wildly erratic 10-year career? Did Cutler, against all odds, finally figure out how to be a responsible quarterback at 32? Or was it all Gase?
The only way we’ll really find out is if Gase lands a job as a head coach, whether it be with the Dolphins, Giants, Browns, 49ers, Eagles or some other team looking for the latest answer.
It would be a huge opportunity for Cutler to prove that he can do good things on his own, that his success as a Bear is not tied to one lone miracle worker. As it stands now, the perception around the NFL is that he’s a torturously wired quarterback who needs the exact right coach working with him to bring out his best. Gase’s departure wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world in terms of Cutler’s legacy.
Bears fans likely would prefer to take their chances with Gase remaining as offensive coordinator rather than leave Cutler’s success or failure up to Cutler. That makes sense. It just wouldn’t be as interesting.