John Fox on Jay Cutler: QB has 'done everything we've asked'

BOURBONNIAS, Ill. -- Six months after being named head coach of the Chicago Bears, John Fox's feelings about embattled quarterback Jay Cutler haven't changed.

"I got asked this 8,000 different ways. At the end of the day, we're a performance-based business," Fox said Wednesday. "No matter what we say about anybody, it's going to come down to how we perform on Sundays or Mondays or whenever they line us up."

The Bears invested heavily in Cutler the past six years, sending a pair of first-round picks, a third-round draft choice and quarterback Kyle Orton to the Denver Broncos in exchange for Cutler in 2009, and later rewarding Cutler following the 2013 season with a new contract that included $54 million in guarantees.

Because of Cutler's prominent position within the organization, it was routine to hear former Bears coaches and general managers rave about his performance in the club's offseason program as a precursor to future success.

Fox has taken a different approach.

He isn't providing much detail on Cutler's progress in the offense, saying only Cutler has "done everything we've asked of him so far."

Instead of praising Cutler's skills on the football field, Fox instead complimented Cutler for organizing an offseason workout in Nashville, Tennessee, with teammates Martellus Bennett, Eddie Royal, Kevin White and Marquess Wilson.

"He's a very giving, caring person, in my opinion, in my short timeframe with him," Fox said. "You're always trying to build guys, not just on the field, but off the field as well."

Entering his 10th NFL season, Cutler, 32, said on the eve of training camp that he knows exactly where he stands with Fox.

"Fox isn't going to sugarcoat anything," Cutler said. "He is going tell you exactly how it is. What he expects from you. How things are going to go day to day.

"He wants guys who want to win Super Bowls. That's all he wants. He doesn't want guys that are in it for themselves or want to go to Pro Bowls. He's got one thing in mind, and that's the Super Bowl, and we have to find more guys like that."

Reaching the Super Bowl would be a first for Cutler. He's appeared in just two playoff games in his career, both with Chicago in the 2010 season.

Following the offseason firings of Marc Trestman and Aaron Kromer, Cutler is on his fifth offensive coordinator as quarterback of the Bears.

For Cutler to live up to Fox's lofty expectations, he'll need to master new offensive coordinator Adam Gase's system, the same offense Peyton Manning ran last year in Denver.

"This year, we're back to learning another offense and a new group of guys," Cutler said. "And I think the locker room has changed a little bit more than it has in the past. So there's a lot of newness to this group that everyone's going to have to get used to. We're going to have to work out some personalities and see how it all meshes together."