As Tony Sparano begins his maiden voyage as offensive coordinator of the New York Jets, he seems at least aware of the massive iceberg directly in his path.
In the interest of not dragging this metaphor out any further, said iceberg is the (inevitable) quarterback controversy between Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow.
Sparano enters a situation with two highly publicized QBs and a boss in Rex Ryan who already told the media the backup could get 20 snaps per game.
On Thursday, Sparano spoke publicly for the first time since taking over the Jets' offense from Brian Schottenheimer.
"I won’t give you the vision on what I think (Tebow's) role will be in the offense," Sparano said, according to the New York Daily News. "I would just say that ... I believe what (Ryan) says. He can play anywhere from one to 20 snaps ... somewhere like that. What coach said is 100 percent correct. As far as how we’ll use Tim or what we’ll do with Tim in that way, we’re going to keep that to us right now."
As you can tell, this isn't the first rodeo for Sparano, who spent the last four seasons coaching the Miami Dolphins. He said Tebow will play anywhere between one and 20 snaps, suddenly making the Jets' game plan as murky as a swamp in Jersey.
“We’re just excited to be able to add another good football player to our team,” Sparano said. “It’s about trying to find good football players. Mark Sanchez is one hell of a player. I am so excited to coach him. Tim Tebow is a good football player, too. When you put both of these guys in a room and they’re playing checkers, they’re going to compete at it."
Does that clarify things? Of course not. And that's the point.