Quarterbacks coach Steve Clarkson does not work for an NFL team, but he has worked with many big names at the position. That includes New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, who worked with Clarkson for three days earlier this offseason.
And that makes Clarkson's strong opinion on the handling of Tebow noteworthy.
In a March blog post titled "Sabotage of the Quarterback" and a conference call with reporters Wednesday, Clarkson took the Denver Broncos and Jets management to task.
"I think he was purposefully sent to New York," Clarkson said Wednesday via The Star-Ledger. "From the standpoint: you send him to a situation where you have instability with your coach -- you don't know if he's coming or going. You have a fragile-minded Mark Sanchez at quarterback. You stick Tim Tebow in there and you kill two birds with one stone.
"So if you're Denver, you've got to be thinking, 'We send him to New York we basically kill an opponent and at the same time Tim Tebow doesn't come back to bite us in the proverbial butt, if you will, because he's not going to make it out of there.' ...
"There is a lot of politics that go on with it. I think Timmy was just unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Wednesday was not the only day that Clarkson put on a pair of Bad Idea Jeans. On a post dated March 22, Clarkson called Sanchez a "shadow of himself" and "a broken-spirited quarterback with very little support."
Clarkson also implored NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell essentially to award Tebow to the Jacksonville Jaguars in order to save their franchise and put people in the seats. Like a lot of Tebow supporters, Clarkson feels Tebow never got a fair chance with the Jets. (Even if the Jetssay they still are happy to have Tebow.)
"I think in Tim's case, they walked him into New York and said, 'We got four plays for you,'" Clarkson said. "You execute these four plays and that's all you're going to get. ... It's pretty depressing and it doesn't give you much room for hope. I would hope whoever, wherever he ends up that they give him an opportunity and I think if they do they'll be pleasantly surprised. I think the guy still can play."
In theory, Clarkson might have a point. In the new NFL's read-option focus, Tebow should be able to fit on a team as a backup somewhere. The problem: His talent doesn't make up for the sideshow that Tebow brings with him.
It doesn't help matters when Tebow's personal coach criticizes his employers and teammate.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
