Tim Tebow on working with Brian Daboll
The New England Patriots decided to bring back former wide receivers coach Brain Daboll, who actually got his career in the NFL started with the Patriots, in January as an assistant to head coach Bill Belichick. Daboll was the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator last season, and it wasn’t exactly a successful year for him or the Chiefs. Not too long after joining the Patriots, Daboll was full of praise on Ryan Mallett, but he’s been working closely with a different backup quarterback in training camp.
New England Patriots quarterback Tim Tebow throws a pass during training camp at the practice fields of Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
Tim Tebow still needs a lot of work, but he’s been steadily getting better, bit-by-bit each day of training camp, and he’s had a few impressive long throws (one to Kenbrell Thompkins was especially notable). Daboll has been working extremely closely with Tebow on several things, and the Patriots seem to be doing everything they can to bring their ever-popular third-string quarterback along. With the energy they are devoting to Tebow, it seems hard to see Tebow getting cut. The Patriots want to see if they can develop Tebow and harness his strengths while also mitigating his weaknesses. Tebow is certainly a project player, but a successful project with Tebow could end up paying big dividends and allow the Pats to deal Ryan Mallett off more willingly (hopefully Mallett can impress this preseason and fetch that high pick in the offseason).
Tebow has also been working closely with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and that’s obviously not a surprise, given that McDaniels brought Tebow to the Denver Broncos in the first round.
Daboll and the Patriots work seems to already be paying off dividends for Tebow, and Daboll is a former quarterbacks coach with Tebow’s former team, the New York Jets. Tebow recently praised Daboll, via ESPN Boston, “He’s been great. He’s a very bright football mind, offensive mind. He’s been around the game a lot, been a lot of places, and really understands it well. When [offensive coordinator] Josh [McDaniels] is busy doing so many things, sometimes Coach Daboll can step in there and really help as well.”