Tim Tebow may be too late to make transition to TE, says former NFL HC

Former NFL head coach and analyst Eric Mangini thinks it’s too late for Tim Tebow to make the transition to tight end. 

Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow have a close relationship, so when the former became the head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was fair to wonder if he would bring his pupil aboard. Would the Florida product be an assistant coach or the team chaplain? In the end, the Jags sign Tebow with the expectation he can make the switch to tight end. Former NFL head coach Eric Mangini recently weighed in on the former quarterback’s chances of successfully pulling the transition.

Mangini appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd and said via 247 Sports that Meyer is going to face some challenges as he makes the transition to the pros. He also thinks that giving the former Gator a chance could work from a practice perspective. He hypothesizes that the Jaguars head coach could just want Tebow as a locker room presence, ‘coaching in the locker room’ kind of thing. Mangini then adds that regardless of Meyer’s plans, time is not on his side.

"As he comes in, looks at him and realizes not just age but the transition to a different position and the other skill guys he has available. It’s just not going to work. Maybe it works from a practice squad perspective, maybe he can keep him around in that way. Maybe he just wants the presence in the locker room and that becomes a practice squad type role, coaching in the locker type of thing. But it’s too late to make this transition and not enough to make it work.”"

It’s not too late for Tim Tebow to contribute to the Jaguars’ offense.

Mangini is right it’s too late for Tebow to learn the nuances of the tight end position. Although he’s in great shape and has been working hard since joining the Jaguars, he’s currently 33, which is young by society standards but old from a football perspective. The 2010 first-round pick needs to learn how to take the correct angles when blocking and running routes, and that’s not something he can master in just one summer.

On the other hand, Meyer surely knows Tebow won’t have enough time to make the switch, so he could be carving a special role for him on offense. Skip Bayless of Fox Sports 1 doesn’t see the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner as a traditional tight end and recently suggested that he sees the field on red-zone and short-yardage situations.

You could argue that Meyer should have given Tebow’s spot on the Jags’ 90-man roster to someone who already plays tight end. That’s a valid point. Also, Jacksonville could have addressed the position better in free agency but opted not to. Will this matter if the two-time BCS National Champion ends up moving the chains and scoring a few times this upcoming season? Meyer believes it’s worth finding out.

Tebow could also end up struggling and not making the team. That’s a possibility and that would be on the Jaguars head coach, as he’s the one that decided to give it a try. He’s betting a former quarterback makes the transition to tight end in the dawn of his football career.

For the time being, let’s give Meyer the benefit of the doubt and see if Tim Tebow can pull one last trick out of his football hat.