Tebowmania has taken over the greater Denver area, just not the Broncos front office.
Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway continues to be lukewarm about Tim Tebow’s future as the starting quarterback of the Broncos.
Gary Miller asked Elway the following question on his weekly radio show on 102.3 FM, via the Denver Post.
“Any closer to feeling if you have your quarterback on this team?”
Elway flatly answered “no.”
“I think obviously [Tebow is] making progress week in and week out. When you look at our third down numbers, those have to improve. I mean, that’s the bottom line,” Elway said. “We can’t go 3-for-13 [on third downs] and win a world championship. Those are the type of things we have to keep improving.”
Sure, this is tough love. But it’s not the type of tough love we’d see if Elway had drafted his own quarterback in the first round that fits Elway’s image of what a franchise quarterback should be.
Elway did praise Tebow’s ability to work late game magic, saying he wasn’t surprised Tebow could make plays in tough situations.
Still, it’s clear that Tebow has a lot of work to do to convince his bosses that he should be the team’s starter next year. Tebowmaniacs point to the media for unfair criticism of their hero.
But it’s clear that some of the biggest doubts regarding Tebow’s long-term viability reside at Broncos headquarters.