Jay Cutler must feel a little bit envious of Caleb Williams these days. The former quarterback spent eight seasons with the Chicago Bears from 2009 to 2016. While he would finish with most of the franchise’s passing records in that time, most people remember it as a turbulent period where Cutler never quite achieved his full potential. A significant reason for this was the constant instability within the coaching staff. The Bears changed head coaches three times and offensive coordinators five times. They never found their definitive guru who could help Cutler excel.
He feels that has changed with the arrival of Ben Johnson. Even before things got going this year for the Bears, Cutler was texting his friends Waddle & Silvy of ESPN 1000 that Johnson is “the man.” The quarterback actually worked with the young coach during his rise with the Miami Dolphins in the 2010s. It didn’t take long to recognize Johnson had an incredibly sharp mind. Having watched him work since then, Cutler revealed that he sees a familiar face when watching the coach run the offense.
Hall of Fame legend Mike Shanahan.
Jay Cutler understands Shanahan better than most.
The two-time Super Bowl winner drafted the quarterback in 2006 with the Denver Broncos. They spent three years together, with the third culminating in a Pro Bowl for Cutler. Shanahan was somebody who operated differently from your typical offensive wizards. While Don Coryell, Bill Walsh, Jon Gruden, Mike Martz, and Andy Reid all sought to revolutionize through the passing game, Shanahan brought about a renaissance in running the football. His outside-zone scheme took the league by storm and helped John Elway finally win his championships. The offense was designed to protect the quarterback by keeping the defense honest and fully utilizing play-action.
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Johnson is built the same way. He is the most creative run schemer in the NFL today. Only Shanahan’s son, Kyle, is in the same tier. This has made Chicago the #1 rushing team in the league and has made them lethal on play action. Jay Cutler knows what this style of offense can do for the success of an organization. He saw it first-hand. If not for some atrocious defenses in 2007 and 2008, his teams would’ve made the playoffs. Cutler no doubt still wonders how different his career might’ve been had Shanahan not been fired.
The good news is that Williams finds himself in a similar situation all those years ago. All he has to do is listen to Johnson, and everything will be fine.
