By Greg Brzozowski, WSOE Sports
When I heard Urban Meyer was stepping down from the University of Florida as the head coach due to health reasons, I already had the perfect coach in mind for the Gators to hire. His name… Tim Tebow!
Yes, I believe that the soon-to-be former quarterback for Florida should forego the NFL Draft and become the new head coach at his alma mater. It works out perfectly for the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner. Earlier this season, Meyer said that he sees Tebow coaching one day in the future, most likely at Florida, and all be it he has no prior coaching experience, it’s a near perfect time for him to inherit the position now. If there’s one job that Tebow would be perfect for, it’s this Gators position now for these reasons.
Meyer leaves the same year Tebow is graduating after spending four years under his coach’s personal guidance, where he ran his offense, knew his schemes, and definitely racked his coach’s brain about everything he knew about football. He knows the life of a college football player at the most publicized level through his own experience and would know how to relate with his players still on his team and what recruiting methods work through the discussions he had with those same players and coaches. We all know he’s a great and inspiring speaker and that the school loves him, considering they engraved his speech after the Ole Miss loss last year into their fricken stadium. He wins on every level he’s ever played at and knows the ins and outs of every SEC team, player, and coach. I think Florida at least needs to offer him the job. Forget bringing in a guy from another school that would change their system, which has proven great results for the school. You bring in Tebow and draw him away from the NFL with this argument: in the pros, he might not even play quarterback because scouts question his ability to run a pro styled offense, with many visualizing him as a fullback, linebacker, or wildcat QB (much like a Michael Vick or Pat White), meaning he would have to change his game completely.
But if he stayed at Florida, he would have the opportunity to be the youngest coach ever in the history of college football, make a decent salary comparable to what he’d make as an average NFL player (after all the revenue he made for UF in four years, they would owe him), and get to do what he loves (being in football and being a leader). If he were to catch fire, become a top-notch coach, and have a long and amazing career, he would smash Joe Paterno’s record for all time wins and go down as one of College Football’s greatest players and coaches ever. Not to mention from a fan’s perspective, it would be the closest thing to a player coach as we’ve seen in a long time and the most interesting thing to maybe ever happen in sports. I know I would tune in for every Gators game if Tebow were coaching. Just imagine, the Georgia Dome, for the SEC Championship, a jubilant 23 year old coach drenched in Gatorade shakes an embarrassed Nick Saben’s hand after winning his first conference championship and heading to another BCS Championship game, this time, manning the sidelines. I don’t know about you, but I would give anything to see that happen.
Unfortunately, I know this will not happen. Tebow will be in a pro city next season in an uncertain role and Florida will find a somewhat suitable replacement for Meyer. But if there is one thing that Tim Tebow has done in his time in college, it’s make fans believe that he can do anything and everything. Maybe we’ll get to see him try.
Contact Information:
Greg Brzozowski
WSOE Sports
gbrzozowski@elon.edu
