So long, Jay.
What could have been a sweet story of success and triumph has soured into a tale of a young quarterback whose feelings are too easily hurt, a young, inexperienced coach who hasn’t figured out how to manage the politics and personalities of the game, and a longtime owner who seems to be losing control of his once-mighty franchise.
But it’s the fans who pay the bills who will end up as the real losers in the unnecessary and increasingly petty Jay Cutler-Josh McDaniels saga.
McDaniels, hired in January by a team owner who suddenly, and deservedly, wanted more control of his team, has run off the franchise quarterback before holding his first practice. McDaniels sparked the controversy by trying to trade Cutler to bring Matt Cassell, the quarterback from his previous team, to the Broncos.
Cutler then exacerbated the situation by pouting, hiding behind his agent and refusing to communicate with his coach and Broncos owner Pat Bowlen in recent days.
And Bowlen has watched, almost helplessly, as his franchise has begun to unravel in the months since he fired longtime coach Mike Shanahan after a run of mediocrity.
Bowlen finally ended the shenanigans Tuesday night by publicly announcing that the two-year starter is on the auction block.
What a shame. Cutler is one of only a handful of really good quarterbacks playing in the NFL these days, and could have been something special for the franchise and for the region that embraces its football team like few others. His overcoming diabetes to compete at the highest of athletic levels was quite a triumph, and helped win over the hearts of many fans.
While he must shoulder much of the blame for this saga, his agent, his coach and his owner all deserve some of the scorn being heaped on Cutler on talk radio and comments posted to .
Still, his departure is what’s best for the team.
Now, let’s hope this is the end of the feud, which has consumed way too much of this Broncos-loving state for way too long.
