It's probably pretty safe to assume that the reported signing of Tim Tebow by the Chip Kelly-led Philadelphia Eagles isn't going to have much impact for the team on the field in the 2015 NFL season.
Tebow has likely been brought in as a very, very low-cost, impossibly implausible high-reward prospect that will compete as the fourth - or fifth, depending on how you view GJ Kinne's chances - quarterback. He's a camp arm that just so happens to come with a whole bunch of extra media scrutiny - a media he was actually a part of not all that long ago.
What is important about the signing for Eagles fans - potentially, at least - is what it means about Chip and his approach to the NFL.
Some, including Pete Prisco of CBS Sports, believe that the decision to sign Tebow is an ill-omen for the Eagles and a sure sign of Kelly's arrogance.
"Now Chip Kelly, the new president of the CAC -- Coaches Arrogance Club -- thinks he can bring Tebow in and make it work," writes Prisco. "Why? What can he do? The word is he's being brought in as a quarterback, not to play another position. Unlike many, I don't think he could move to another position anyway. Like most, I don't think he can play quarterback in the NFL -- even in Kelly's system.
"It makes no sense."
Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, on the other hand, feels Tebow's addition is a direct indication of the size of Kelly's - only partially warranted - ego.
"This story is also about ego. Chip Kelly's ego. Make no mistake about that. This is a total ego move by a megalomaniac, egotistical coach.
"Is Chip Kelly talented? Yes. Does Chip Kelly think he's the smartest guy in the room? Hell yes."
There's no denying the odd nature of the move and the likelihood that Kelly's thinking on it falls somewhere in the vicinity of "We're going to do what we want to do, damn what everyone else thinks."
Kelly must see some opportunity there, of course, whether or not the media can see it, and whether or not he's actually right in that thinking. Otherwise why make the move in the first place?
Then again, there's also the New York Jets to consider. The Jets and then-head coach Rex Ryan signed Tebow prior to the 2012 NFL season in the hopes that he would compete with and subsequently bring the best out of presumed starter, Mark Sanchez.
Sanchez wound up playing very poorly - his QBR that year was 25.8 - and the "Tebow" chants become loud and continuous.
Sanchez, of course, is now No. 2 on the quarterback depth chart for Kelly's Eagles, behind oft-injured former first-overall draft pick, Sam Bradford, who never became anything more than a middling starter in four protracted seasons with the Rams.
Tebow, at 6-foot-3, 236-pounds, is built much more like an H-back or tight end than a quarterback. His throwing motion - elongated and awkward - has led to a plethora of accuracy issues, resulting in a career QBR of 33.4
In three NFL seasons Tebow has amassed 173 completions for 2,422 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
There has been speculation that Kelly, a coach known to covet versatile players, could bring Tebow onboard and use him in various sub-packages along the goal line and elsewhere - Tebow also has 197 rushes in his career for 989 yards, a 5.0 yard-per-carry average.
Still, if a coach like Bill Belichick - also known to value versatility - couldn't find a way to use Tebow, it's difficult to envision Kelly being able to succeed where Belichick ultimately failed/became disinterested.
Kelly though, seems bound and determined to try.
In a way, it's admirable - Kelly knows he doesn't have a firm answer at the quarterback position and a slim-to-nil chance of even being able to come close enough to sniff Marcus Mariota in the 2015 NFL Draft. As has been proven time and again, without a franchise quarterback, your chances of a Super Bowl berth are exponentially lessened.
Every stone must be overturned; every avenue must be explored until that answer is found.
Tebow almost assuredly isn't that answer, but it's hard to blame Chip for bringing in a high-character player with a potentially high-upside at literally no cost.
What it amounts to for the Eagles and, perhaps more importantly, what it means for Kelly's view of himself in the context of the NFL, remains to be seen.
