Jim Harbaugh stands up for Jay Cutler, says he is ‘outstanding’

Jay Cutler remains deeply unpopular in certain NFL circles, but at least he has a defender in Jim Harbaugh.

With the Bears quarterback hurt again and his toughness once again under question, he Michigan coach spoke up for the quarterback. Harbaugh has had Cutler at his quarterback camp, and he said that the criticisms of Cutler come from those who don’t know him as a teammate.

“I would just talk to the people that know him — his teammates,” Harbaugh said on Tuesday’s “The Dan Patrick Show,” as transcribed by Sean Wagner-McGough of CBS Sports. “And I actually do know Jay Cutler. I’ve been around Jay Cutler many times. He is a serious guy. He is a hard worker. I watched him coach at our camp the last two summers in a row. He’s outstanding. So, I think people that speculate that don’t know him, that’s just speculation. You don’t know somebody unless you know them.”

Of course, that’s not the greatest defense when some of Cutler’s former teammates are the ones ripping him most viciously. Cutler is a divisive figure, and there are no two ways about it. Harbaugh simply sees him differently than some of those who have played with him.