Cutler has passed with Bates

Jay Cutler has had a strained relationship with offensive coaches for the Chicago Bears, but Tuesday’s hiring of Jeremy Bates as the team’s quarterbacks coach gives him someone he’s worked closely with in the past.

Bates worked with Cutler in Denver and he will serve under new offensive coordinator Mike Tice. Bates was out of the NFL during the 2011 season after working as the offensive coordinator under Pete Carroll for the Seattle Seahawks for one season.

“I’m very excited to be working with Jeremy Bates again,” Cutler told the Bears’ team-controlled website. “We got the right guy for the job. He’s a grinder. He’s a guy that’s going to work extremely hard to find weaknesses in defenses and he’s going to be able to present it to us in a way that we understand and will be able to make plays where we can take advantage of those weaknesses.”

The Bears announced that Bates will coach quarterbacks but their statement made no mention of the passing game coordinator role that previously had been referenced.

“His history with Jay was a big thing,” Bears coach Lovie Smith told the team’s website. “And not just history with Jay but a good history, a productive history with him helping Jay as a quarterback.”

The Bears took their time in landing Bates. The job – along with the title of passing game coordinator – was offered to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator Greg Olson but he turned it down to join Mike Mularkey’s staff in Jacksonville.

The Bears also were rebuffed in their efforts to interview Tennessee Titans quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains. The team interviewed Alex Van Pelt, who served this past season as the quarterbacks coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Cutler worked well with Bates in Denver and had hoped Bates would come in 2010 when Mike Martz was hired as offensive coordinator. Bates turned down an opportunity to interview with the Bears and sources indicated it was because of a communication issue with former general manager Jerry Angelo.

Cutler at times clearly struggled with Martz and his relationship with former offensive coordinator Ron Turner deteriorated in their 2009 season together.