Patriots: Josh McDaniels has been waiting for Cam Newton ever since he lost Tim Tebow

Can Josh McDaniels apply what he learned from Tim Tebow to Cam Newton’s Patriots career?

Coming out of the University of Florida, Tim Tebow was viewed as the ultimate dual threat quarterback. Tebow had all of the physical skill, character traits and winning drive to make him worthy of a first-round pick. He was just missing that little thing every quarterback needs in order to be successful at the NFL level. You know, a small attribute called accuracy.

Tebow finished his NFL career with a 48% completion percentage after just three seasons. Because of that, McDaniels’ tenure as the Broncos’ head coach was even shorter lived.

One thing we now know looking back on these events is that McDaniels would love nothing more than a mobile and physical quarterback in his life to try everything again, now that Tom Brady has walked out the door.

Well, would you look at that.

Christmas has come early for McDaniels this year, and Cam Newton is his Red Ryder BB Gun.
Tebow may have beaten Newton out for the starting role at Florida, but Cam has come a long way since then. Newton is everything college football fans once hoped Tim Tebow would turn out to be in the NFL, and Josh McDaniels is being given his second chance now that Newton and himself are both Patriots.

Ultimately, it was McDaniels’ inability to produce a winning football team in Denver that led to his firing, but it was Tebow’s lack of half a quarterback’s requisite traits wound up being the final nail in the coffin. Since then, McDaniels hasn’t coached any quarterback with the athletic ability anywhere close to Tebow (unless you want to include Tebow’s brief stint with the Pats during the 2013 off/pre-season, but I don’t).

We saw a few wrinkles in New England’s play calling during Tom Brady’s suspension in the first four games of the 2016 season. Jimmy Garoppolo ran a few RPOs during the first game, and a half and then Jacoby Brissett really showed how creative McDaniels could get during the final three games of Brady’s suspension with his ability to run the ball.

McDaniels interviewed for Carolina’s vacant head coaching job this offseason, but was beaten out by former Baylor Head Coach Matt Rhule. Some speculation was that McDaniels did not want to coach Cam Newton, and that’s what led to Carolina not hiring him. However, since then, Rhule has signed Teddy Bridgewater and botched the handling of Newton, ending with his release from the team.

What if (*puts tin foil hat on head*) McDaniels did want to coach Newton, and that’s why Carolina chose Rhule instead? Now, McDaniels gets his cake and gets to eat it, too; he now has the player he wanted in the system he’s comfortable in, rather than having the pressure of being the Head Coach.

Coach McDaniels is now getting the most physically dominant quarterback ever produced. He will unleash on the league what he’s been holding in his back pocket for the last decade, and you can thank Tim Tebow for getting McDaniels to where he is now.