Broncos front office boss John Elway is trying hard to reverse the perception that he’s not a believer in Tim Tebow.
In an interview with Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com, Elway said that he considers himself a Tebow fan and is hoping to see Tebow follow in his footsteps as a star franchise quarterback for the Broncos.
“Do I know where that ceiling is? I hope that ceiling is a mile high,” Elway said. “It’s just hard to predict. I don’t have that answer right now. But there’s nobody more supportive or wants him to be that guy than me.”
Elway was burned this season when he said Tebow’s exploits don’t put the Broncos any closer to identifying their quarterback of the future, and he’s been delicately attempting to walk back that comment ever since. But Elway remains reluctant to name Tebow the Broncos’ franchise quarterback, and there are some valid reasons for that.
One is that Elway inherited Tebow from the failed Josh McDaniels regime. Elway was brought in to change the culture of the Broncos, and he didn’t think that would entail confirming that McDaniels was right to take Tebow in the first round of last year’s draft. And Elway surely can’t help but evaluate Tebow from his own personal frame of reference as a star quarterback himself -- and a different kind of star quarterback than Tebow. Yes, Elway and Tebow were both good runners, but Elway had one of the best throwing arms the game of football has ever seen. His passes looked like they were shot out of a cannon, and his throwing motion was beautiful. Tebow couldn’t be more different from Elway as a passer, so it’s not surprising that Elway isn’t totally sold on Tebow as a passer.
The radio interview in which Elway said he doesn’t think the Broncos are close to identifying their quarterback of the future isn’t the only reason some doubt his commitment to Tebow. When Tebow is leading the Broncos to a come-from-behind victory, as he does almost every week, the TV cameras occasionally catch Elway, and he never looks particularly happy about it. Maybe it’s unfair to judge Elway on facial expressions and body language, but that’s life.
But Elway insists that he does think Tebow has a future, and he said he plans to work with Tebow and Broncos quarterbacks coach Adam Gase during the offseason. Elway also said he thinks the biggest mechanical improvement Tebow should make is to adjust his footwork, not to overhaul his throwing motion.
So that will be one of Elway’s offseason projects. Only time will tell if another offseason project is acquiring someone else whom Elway envisions as the Broncos’ future franchise quarterback.