Tim Tebow May Be Carolina Bound

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The Carolina Panthers need a new Quarterback. Tim Tebow needs a team willing and able to rebuild themselves around the unique skills that made him one of the greatest QBs in the history of college football.  If the stars align just right, Carolina fans may be seeing Tebow in Carolina blue and black in 2010.

Despite being one of the most decorated QBs to ever play in the college ranks, the word is, it will be surprising if Tebow gets taken in the first round of the upcoming draft.  Some analysts like Mel Kiper Jr. have him falling as low as the 2nd or even 3rd round.  They simply don't believe that the hard running bruiser quarterback has the arm or mechanics to make it in the NFL.

Right now the Carolina Panthers are struggling with Jake Delhomme.  Delhomme after enjoying several years of success, including a trip to Superbowl XXXVIII in 2004, has seemingly lost the ability to function as an effective NFL Quarterback this season with a mind numbing 13 interceptions thrown in seven games so far with only 5 touchdowns.

Currently the situation stands as thus. Its almost assured, barring a miracle turnaround, that John Fox is gone as the Panther's head coach next year.  Which leads to the speculation of who his replacement might be. Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher are two names that are getting tossed out a lot to this question. What is settled as fact is that the Panthers currently don't have a 1st round pick, after trading theirs away in a deal for a defensive lineman last year.  Also settled as fact is that Delhomme just signed a multi-year extension on his contract that puts Carolina on the hook for up to 42 million dollars over the next 5 years with 20 million guaranteed. As bad as those two things seem, they may actually work out in the Panthers interest. 

If Tebow falls into the second round as many are predicting then the Panthers should have a pick high in the first 5 spots to be able to snag him. Also, with Julius Peppers wanting out of Carolina, the Panthers may be able to somehow parlay his situation into getting back a first round pick with which to choose Tebow.

Assuming that Carolina is able to workout a situation to get Tebow, then having Delhomme under contract for another year would give them time to groom the Heisman Winner to take the reigns in 2011 with Delhomme becoming a full-time backup.  At this point Carolina has nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying to draft Tebow.  With the right Coach willing to experiment with a version of the spread offense in the NFL and enough time to learn the ropes, the greatest Quarterback in college football today may be able to continue his storybook-like success in the NFL and bring the Panthers back from the edge of mediocrity

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