Bears guard Kyle Long was one of the players closest to former quarterback Jay Cutler during his last four seasons in Chicago. As he met the media after Friday's practice in Bourbonnais, speculation was rampant that the Dolphins (and their head coach, former Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase), would turn to Cutler as they decide how to replace Ryan Tannehill and his re-injured left knee. The Miami starter will be out an indefinite period of time, if not the rest of the season if he chooses to undergo surgery.
Despite playing on a 6-10 team, Cutler had the second-best interception rating (2.3) of his career, and third-best quarterback rating (65.9) in the only year he and Gase worked together, in 2015.
Head coach John Fox and current offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains clearly preferred to avoid the subject of a Cutler-Gase reunion when asked Friday, but Long didn't.
"Knowing Jay for awhile, I completely thought he was on full `Montana' mode, just chillin' with his wife and kids, but nothing would surprise me," Long said. "Obviously being with (Adam) Gase here and having relative success and a good relationship, you never know.
"I don't know anything about it. I just read about it today and thought it was pretty funny."
So what clicked between the tandem, when Cutler threw 21 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 15 games two seasons ago?
"(Gase) does a great job of talking with the guys. And having that open-door policy - like you can walk into his office and talk about anything - you don't feel like there's that coach/player barrier up with him, which we do a great job of here. We have a lot of coaches like that. But especially as it pertains to Jay, I'd say that, him and `Goose' get along really well."
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