January 27, 2010

To Hawthorn Friends and Family -- 

             Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler sustained some hard knocks on the field Sunday afternoon as his Bears were losing to the Green Bay Packers, but they paled in comparison to the hits his reputation took following his injury in the NFC title game.

As Cutler stood on the sidelines - looking neither like someone seriously injured or like someone anxious to get back in after being removed early in the third quarter with a knee injury - NFL players were twittering about his perceived toughness, or perceived lack thereof. This drove the traditional media to focus on Cutler’s toughness and courage right alongside the game story about the Packers’ 21-14 win.

Cutler’s toughness and future in Chicago were the sports radio and ESPN topic du jour for several days. His, and to some extent the Bears’, handling of Sunday’s events provides a useful reminder regarding certain elements of crisis prevention and management.

1 – Prior to a crisis, engage in reputation management. Known for his surly demeanor in general and condescending attitude towards the media, Cutler has never worried about how he’s been perceived. He hasn’t said this, but may feel quarterbacks are only paid to win games and, this year, he’s been doing just that, taking his team to within one win of the Super Bowl. That’s shortsighted. Because he had no goodwill built up among the majority of the media – some of whom were noting he often looks like he’d rather not be playing football - or among many NFL players it seems, he had no reservoir to draw from on Sunday. It didn’t help that he was matched up against the media-friendly and enthusiastic Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.

2 – Once in crisis, control the message. Here the Bears did him no favors. Initial information about Cutler’s injury was sketchy – it was unclear on what play he was actually injured – and his return was listed as “questionable,” meaning he might or might not come back in the game. This was red meat for the NFL twitter chorus, many of whom noted they would need to be “carried off the field” before they would leave.

Also, Cutler sent the wrong message as he stood on the sidelines during the second half looking more like a guy waiting for a bus than someone whose team was staging an unexpected rally behind third-string quarterback Caleb Hanie. Okay, donning crutches or an unneeded ice pack might have been a bit much, but had Cutler been seen as more emotionally involved – conferring with Hanie and the coaches perhaps – he would have been better served.

And Bears Coach Lovie Smith didn’t help matters during his press conference when he provided few details about Cutler’s injury or his leaving the game except for saying that the medical staff pulled Cutler. The Bears never seemed to have a unified message.

3 – Maintain internal communication. Someone in the Bears organization had to be aware of how this was evolving during the game as Cutler stood on the sidelines. Couldn’t they have gotten word to him? Maybe they did and Cutler ignored them. We don’t know. Then, after the game, were Lovie Smith, Cutler and the other team leaders made aware just how much the situation had mushroomed? It didn’t appear so. During the postgame questioning, Cutler and his teammates appeared blindsided by the fact that some NFL players were questioning Cutler’s toughness.

As we learned Monday, Cutler did in fact sustain a serious knee injury – though calling it a sprain rather than a partial tear, which it is, didn’t help his cause. The question going forward is whether or not the Chicago Bears – whose nicknames include the Monsters of the Midway - will want as the face of their franchise someone whose toughness has been so vigorously called into question.

Certainly there a number of things Cutler can do to burnish his reputation. However, given his track record, too much sudden image consciousness now on his part will seem hypocritical. His teammates defended him from the outset. And other players and some in the media have begun defending him as well.

The best way for Cutler to get past this long-term of course will be to take the Bears to the Super Bowl. Winning cures all ills. Sadly, he might have just lost his best chance.

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With more than fifteen years experience serving senior members of the United States Senate and developing media strategies involving a myriad of issues, Harvey Valentine serves as Hawthorn Senior Vice President, Communications.