New England Patriots cut Tim Tebow last Saturday, the day NFL teams had to make the final roster cuts to keep the 53 players. While he’s not alone on loosing his job, 1184 other players were cut last week, his story makes me reflect on his short career in the professional game and how past success does not guarantee sustaining performance.
Tim was a very successful college player winner of two NCAA National Football Championships with Florida and a Hesiman Trophy (first Sophomore to get it) along with many other awards. He was drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos in 2010, only behind two other Quarterbacks and with a Grade of 8 in the top quartile of the whole draft (rating assigned based on projected draft value).
Tebow had the opportunity to play during his first two years with the Broncos, becoming very popular and causing huge sensation as he won a playoff game, but his statistics and consistency were not impressive. He was than tranferred to the New York Jets as Payton Manning joined the Broncos. As a Jet, Tebow did not play much, in part due to injuries. He was finally signed for the summer camp with the Patrios in 2013.
Tebow has a charismatic personality, being a popular person due to his Christian beliefs and behavior. He became a media and commercial phenomenom. His college years were impressive to say the least. But neither his commercial and college success have helped him to achieve his dream of being an NFL quarterback.
Interestingly, the team that has just cut him, the Patriots, have one of the most successful quarterbacks of all time: Tom Brady. While he was drafted in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft, after many other quarterbacks and with not so many achievements as Tebow. His professional career is by everybody knowÑ 5 Superbowl appeareances, winning three and being the MVP in two of them, eitght time Pro Bowls selections and with several NFL records.
This story, while inconclusive as Tebow may still come back and succeed in the professional world, can only confirm that past success does not guarante future survival when rules change, and that we may have to look beyond initial statistics to hire the right person in our teams.
You may read more on: http://www.timtebow.com/ , http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000236950/article/tim-tebows-nfl-career-just-about-over-whats-next