Tim Tebow, Jaguar: Now In the Public Interest?

Dan Shanoff may think that Tim Tebow will be a Patriot, but I’ve always thought he was destined to be a Jaguar. The Jacksonville franchise needs a boost badly, and drafting a Jacksonville native who became a legend for the most popular college team in town is the sort of move that checks out as a suitably logical long shot. So suitable, in fact, that the team has already been investigating the possibility.

But that sort of pales in comparison to Florida governor Charlie Crist putting his public support behind the idea.

⇥Asked about rumors that poor attendance will fuel a Jacksonville Jaguars move to Los Angeles, Gov. Charlie Crist said the team should draft Florida Gators QB Tim Tebow.⇥⇥⇥⇥⇥“I’ve actually talked to the ownership about that. I think it’d be great,” Crist told reporters. Crist also said the team owners thought it was “not a bad idea.”⇥⇥⇥⇥

Now, there’s enough wiggle room in those quotes to make “Crist says the Jags should draft Tebow” a matter of inference and connecting the dots, but it would seem that there is now a bit of political pressure on the Jags in this respect. (And don’t put it past Crist to want to keep Tebow around in the state for Tebow’s political future, either.)

Should politics really get in the way of the Jags’ best interests, though? The best-case scenario for the Jaguars is a resurgence on the field that gets them pole position in the AFC South. If Tebow cannot do that in the long term, any short-term benefits will be fleeting.

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