The End of the Cutler-Martz Bromance

Jay Cutler was not wild about Mike Martz's hiring, but the two quickly became friends during training camp in 2010. There were jokes -- possibly made right here -- about the bromance that developed. Two days ago, Cutler reportedly told Lovie Smith he was ready to move on without Martz. How did it fall apart so quickly?

It started with Martz's inability to tailor his "genius" system to keep Cutler healthy and safe. Cutler was sacked 52 times in 2010. He sustained a concussion and a torn MCL. Though Cutler and the offensive line shoulder part of the blame for that number, Martz's propensity to require five- and seven-step drops and his uneven play-calling did not help. It's hard to have a good relationship with a coach that does not seem to care about weekly beatings.

Cracks in their relationship appeared during the 2011 season. Cutler was caught on camera telling Martz to do something unsavory to himself. Both laughed off the incident, pointing out that coaches and players drop expletives on each other all the time.

The more telling comment from Cutler came when he was asked about calling audibles. He laughed at the idea, because it's not something he was allowed to do in Martz's system. If there's any sign that there was a problem on the offense, that was it. Cutler has six seasons in the league, and has the football sense to make changes when he reads a defense. For some reason, he wasn't allowed to do it.

So the bromance is over. All that's left is for the two to change their Facebook status, divide their items and have that awkward meeting where they exchange stuff.