Tim Tebow did not exactly have the kind of NFL career that a first-round quarterback would be told to emulate, but Bears coach John Fox says he might just follow the Tebow model when bringing first-round pick Mitch Trubisky along.
Fox said today that he and his staff need to do everything they can to get Trubisky experience, as he did when he coached Tebow in 2011 in Denver.
“I’ve been around situations like that before, back in my time at Denver even with Tebow,” Fox said. “We’re going to do whatever we can. As coaches, we got to put guys in positions where they can utilize their skill set, and it won’t be any different this year.”
Some have interpreted those comments as meaning the Bears might have a special package of plays for Trubisky to run while Mike Glennon runs the base offense. But Fox added that the two quarterbacks’ skill sets are similar enough that it wouldn’t make sense to have the backup run option plays, as the Broncos did with the more mobile Tebow.
“They’re both more mobile than people think, which I think always helps,” Fox said. “Even with Mike’s height, he’s a good athlete and has good movement skills, good pocket presence. So again, it comes down to good decision making and that’s something we need to better. We threw a lot of interceptions a year ago, and that didn’t help our cause. So it’s something that our coaching staff is doing a good job with all of them.”
The Bears didn’t trade up to the No. 2 overall pick to keep Trubisky on the bench, so it’s fair to assume that as soon as he’s ready, he’s going to usurp Glennon as the starter. Fox hopes he’s a longer-term solution than Tebow was in Denver.