Tim Tebow Problem: Good Enough to Start, Too Popular to Bench

Tim Tebow is a devout Christian, an upstanding citizen and the last person you’d expect to be in the middle of a controversy.

But a controversy he has caused. A quarterback controversy.

The main cause of the quarterback controversy?

Not his talent. Not his ego. Not his play. But his popularity.

Tebow’s popularity has partially caused a quarterback controversy in Denver between himself and Kyle Orton.

Before even sporting a pair of NFL shoulder pads, Tebow was atop the NFL jersey sales list. His popularity continues to soar with just three NFL starts on his resume.

So why is Tebow so popular? His Christian, good-guy persona? The fact that he is the ultimate competitor? Who knows, but this is for sure: Tebow’s popularity has caused more problems on the field for the team then they bargained for.

Head coach John Fox surely has some tough decisions to make.

On paper, Orton is the Broncos' starting quarterback and it’s not even close.

Orton completed 58.8 percent of his passes last season with 20 touchdowns to just nine interceptions. Tebow completed just 50 percent of his passes last season with five touchdowns to three interceptions.

If it was just about on-field performance, there would be no controversy whatsoever—but it’s not.

Tebow’s popularity and winning attitude has fans calling for him to start, putting unwanted pressure on the franchise to put Tebow on the field.

The Broncos themselves are partially responsible for the controversy, as they put it out there that they wanted to trade Orton.

With Orton on the trade block, it was assumed that Tebow was the starter and Orton was on his way out of town.

In the end, Orton was not dealt and was soon thereafter named the starter ahead of Tebow on the depth chart, further escalating the controversy.

In reality, there may be no quarterback controversy at all.

Fox, who was hired this offseason, has no ties to Tebow, as the coach who drafted him, Josh McDaniels, was fired. Fox does not have the pressure of trying to make his first-round draft pick into an NFL starter.

Newly hired vice president of football operations John Elway also has no ties to Tebow, as he was not with the team when Tebow was drafted, either.

This could be bad news for Tebow, as Elway and Fox want to win and will put the best team on the field to make that happen. That appears to include Tim Tebow on the sidelines.

Tebow’s popularity in the NFL will ultimately force Elway and Fox to make a decision: play Tebow or trade Tebow.

Luckily for the Broncos, Tebow is not one who will chirp to the media about being disgruntled and wanting to start, because that is not who Tebow is as a person. Tebow is the ultimate teammate and puts winning first, above anything, whether that includes him on the field or not.

Tebow should relish in the opportunity to work closely with John Elway, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, and learn as much as he can from him. If Tebow can be a sponge around Elway, he could learn enough from him to become a starting quarterback in the NFL at some point.

Elway and Fox have done the right thing naming Orton the starting quarterback. They put aside all the Tebow hype and popularity and put the best quarterback on the field.

But you have to think, with his popularity and success in college, Tebow will ultimately get the chance to start.

Whether that chance comes with the Broncos is yet to be seen.

A head coach should always make his own decisions. The fans will not be the ones looking for a new job if the wrong decision is made. The head coach will.