The only nagging question in the deal that brought Denver QB Jay Cutler to my Chicago Bears this week was Cutler himself: Was his refusal to "take one for the team" in his dealings with new head coach Josh McDaniels a sign that Cuter is a whiny, selfish crybaby?
Old School football fans agreed he was, that it was Cutler's responsibility to "suck it up," shut his mouth, take his marching orders from the 32-year-old McDaniels and "lead his team."
Sound familiar? Sound like what you've been hearing at your job for years?
Does to me. In fact it sounds EXACTLY like the kind of crap American workers are used to taking from their idiot managers. That's because we've accepted the idea that in America, loyalty runs only one way. Workers are expected to sacrifice for the "team," but "the team" doesn't return that loyalty when profits drop below projections. Hello, layoffs.
So here's what happened in Denver: First-time head-coach McDaniels came in and started putting "his people" in place. Like most good little scared workers, Broncos players kept their mouths shut.
But when Cutler lost his respected position coach in the shuffle, he didn't like the move and didn't pretend otherwise. And McDaniels pretty clearly didn't like being challenged. Young leaders are often like that.
McDaniels engaged in trying to replace Cutler with "his" quarterback from New England, Matt Cassell. He lied about it, then lied about it again, got caught and got corrected. Most of us, concerned about our jobs, look the other way, but Cutler wasn't just rolling over. He was a swaggering, 25-year-old Pro Bowl QB with leverage
The two held a meeting, and Cutler gave McDaniels a chance to correct his mistakes. Instead, McDaniels compounded them. He tried to send Cutler a message about who was in charge, about how he was going to do "whatever was best for the team." And Jay Cutler -- a Vandy grad, by the way -- looked across the table at this wannabe-Belichick and said, in essence, "No sale." McDaniel's claim to understanding what was best for the team assumed facts not in evidence.
In the real world, when you realize that your boss is a lying, self-deluded jerk, you either sell out or take a hike. But in pro sports, your rights are held by the lying, self-deluded jerk.
McDaniels acted like a fool, then looked Cutler in the eye and said "if you can't get on board, let me know right now." And Cutler did. He hoisted McDaniels on his own petard.
Jay Cutler stuck it to The Man. He refused. He took his criticism, his sports-page pillorying, and won.
If you like authority, back the Broncos. If you're sick of being bullied by the Gordon Gekkos and Bill Lumbergs of the world, buy a Cutler jersey.
That's an awesome take. I liked Cutler going back to his Vandy days, but was kind of unsure about where to put the blame in this case. But when you frame it this way, I'm sold.
Either way, I think the Bears got the better of the deal. The only mistake they made was not doing something like this five years ago ...
Posted by: Jason Hardin | Thursday, April 09, 2009 at 12:49
This whole thing was just a gift from the football gods for Bears fans. The chain of events is just too improbable to be repeated.
Posted by: Dan | Friday, April 10, 2009 at 09:08
Cant stand this little baby. I will cut him.
Posted by: Milkman | Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 14:16
Cutler should take the Bears to the Super Bowl.
Posted by: My NFL Forums | Friday, August 07, 2009 at 15:47
Who got the better deal? Cutler is a whiny bitch.
Posted by: Benton | Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 19:26
Josh McDaniels was fired today. He lost his job because of all the reasons I laid out in this post in April 2009. He was a remarkable, epic failure.
Character is destiny.
Meanwhile, Jay Cutler has turned into a gutsy, winning QB in Chicago.
Just sayin'.
Posted by: Dan | Monday, December 06, 2010 at 23:20