If the whole thing felt preordained long ago, well, that's because it was – but not by the guy you might have in mind. Credit for that belongs to former Broncos coach and failed wunderkind Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels lacked head-coaching experience and was just 32 when he was hired in 2009. Yet owner Pat Bowlen and his advisers were so confident in the Bill Belichick disciple that they doubled down and made McDaniels the de facto general manager as well. In short order, he chased away Jay Cutler, a perfectly serviceable quarterback, then traded away three draft choices the next year to make Tebow a first-round pick and heir apparent. Then McDaniels went to work wrecking the rest of the roster, leaving behind as his legacy plenty of chaos and a 4-12 season – the worst in franchise history.
Fox knew all that when he took the job. So did former Broncos hero John Elway when he signed on as team president. They knew this day was coming even after Tebow failed to win the job – maybe even the backup QB job – fair and square in training camp, and long before fans started chanting his name near the end of games and threatened to plaster their campaign on billboards around town. Why Fox was determined to let it drag on for another day is anyone's guess.
"The way we'll operate is we'll communicate with the people involved and the team long before we announce it to you guys," he told reporters Monday. "So, that won't be happening today because we don't see the team until tomorrow."
Fox had said everything was "up for discussion" after Tebow came on in relief Sunday of starter Kyle Orton and sparked a listless Broncos team to within a last-gasp pass of coming back against the San Diego Chargers. Tebow cobbled together two quick scores against a prevent defense, pumping his fist and breathing fire into his teammates and fans, and effectively ending any real discussion. Never mind that backup quarterbacks playing well late in losing efforts happens all the time, or that Tebow also fumbled three snaps from center in that brief relief appearance. The Broncos have a bye week to work on that before traveling to Miami for their next game Oct. 23, and as often happens at various moments in Tebow's career, the extra week to study the Broncos playbook is hardly the only star aligned in his favor.
Orton was 6-of-13 passing for 34 yards and an INT in the first half Sunday. In five starts this season, Orton has completed 59% of his passes for 979 yards, eight TDs and seven INTs. The move to replace Orton delighted the home crowd, which chanted "Tebow, Tebow" throughout the first half.
"I think a lot is made out of the quarterback position," Broncos coach John Fox said Monday. "No doubt that did spark our team, but as you looked around, there were a lot of different guys making plays whether it was a screen pass for a touchdown, a great catch to give us a chance to throw it in the end zone in the end."
After a bye this week, Tebow will make his debut Oct. 23 in Miami, where, by pure coincidence, the Dolphins plan to honor the 2008 Florida Gators football team, which Tebow led to a national championship.
With a week off, Tebow will get two days of extra practice time under the new CBA, which mandates that players get four consecutive days off during a bye.
Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway addressed the QB situation Monday on ESPN.
"Obviously when you don't have success the quarterback is going to take a lot of the blame," Elway said. "Kyle's been through that here and it has been tough... and with the following of Tim Tebow behind him and the support he has, that is a tough thing to deal with and Kyle has handled it as well as can be expected."
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