John Elway finally did the right thing by fully endorsing Tim Tebow as his starting quarterback, not just to open the season, but for a "long, long time."

Nate Davis of USA Today quotes the Denver Broncos Vice President of Football Operations as saying:

"He added a great spark for us, and we really had some good things happen to us. I was really happy with his progress...Tim's gonna be the guy for a long, long time."

Why Elway waited this long to do so is puzzling though.

Did he need extra validation that they wouldn't get a shot at a better quarterback in free agency or the draft? Did he want to see how long Brady Quinn could hold his silence? Heck, was he waiting to see Jeremy Lin explode and compare himself to Tebow?

For goodness sake, why wait until now?

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Tebowmania has long been over across the country, and the all the football-related talk has to do with some guy named Peyton and 355 other dudes getting ready to join the NFL in a few months.

It was at the scouting combine that Elway finally said Tebow would "be the guy for a long, long time," buy why?

Everyone meaningful in the NFL is currently in Indianapolis. Everyone who has something invested in the 2012 season is in Indy, but Elway clearly missed the window of opportunity to praise and endorse Tebow correctly.

The former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and first round pick led the Broncos to the postseason for the first time since 2005. He was easily the most scrutinized young player in the league in some time, possibly ever, and was consistently bashed and berated even when he was winning.

For every lover of Tebow Time, there was a hater.

Not until today did the one person who matters most, Tebow's boss, finally give him the credit and endorsement he deserves as quarterback of the Denver Broncos.

Doing it the Monday after the loss to the New England Patriots would have shown the ultimate commitment.

In this case it is certainly better late than never, but Elway waited too long to do the right thing here.