Wow Tebow's dad a distraction at UF practices

[BamaGrad03 0]

http://www.alligator.org/pt2/060825antonio.php

The media and the public have been kicked out of practices, but there is still one more distraction the Gators have to deal with.

He wears khaki pants and a white shirt, black sunglasses, a straw hat and gives loads of input to players and coaches. So much so, you'd think he was a member of the UF coaching staff. Well, he isn't.

He's Bob Tebow, father of backup quarterback Tim Tebow, and you can almost always find him within a foot of his son or Coach Urban Meyer during practice.

The Gators kick off the 2006 season in eight days and no one seems to be in the ear of Meyer or Tebow more than Bob, and that can't be a good thing.

This is so plain and simple, I'll just say it: Bob Tebow needs to go home.

Bob sends a bad signal to the entire team - especially quarterback Chris Leak - when he's cracking jokes with Meyer in the middle of the 2-minute drill.

Sure, players' parents are invited to practice and attend, but not every day. And when parents do visit practice, they don't distract Meyer from doing his $2-million-a-year job, like Bob does.

With all the friendliness that Meyer shows Bob, one can only guess if his input is being put into the playbook.

And who knows how much bad advice Bob is feeding Tebow.

Bob is so fanatical about making sure his son succeeds, he doesn't even have time to talk to this writer after practice, saying he has to "talk to my son about what he needs to do."

This sort of problem isn't the first of its kind.

Just look at what happened last year when one obsessed parent went too far with her son. Patricia Portis, mother of former UF backup quarterback Josh Portis, frequented practices and became a constant annoyance for Meyer and the Gators last season.

Patricia voiced her opinion to the media as well, saying that her son deserved more playing time. Portis eventually followed his mother's advice and transferred to Maryland.

Tebow, although much better than Portis, is on this same path for destruction.

I can only wonder how far away Bob is from Tebow when he's not practicing.

Bob probably still packs Tebow a paper-bag lunch, sits next to him in classes and studies with him at night. Heck, he probably bunks in Tebow's dorm to make sure the future UF star quarterback accurately dreams of football glory.

How much will it take for Meyer to excuse Bob from practice? Or how much will it take for Meyer to put Bob on the payroll?

There's no doubt that Bob is a loving, caring father who only wants the best for his son. But he's going a bit overboard, and it's hurting the Gators.

Bob is treated special, hence Tebow is treated like a special something. That is never good when trying to get a team to buy into, well, a "team" concept.

If Meyer wants his team to believe that no one is bigger than the game, he needs to excuse Bob from practice.

If not, Bob is a pastor, so why not just make him the team chaplain? At least then he could serve a real purpose.

[DKW 86 7,727]

Pot-Kettle

[WarDlowe 39]

wow...

[BamaGrad03 0]

Pot-Kettle

Whatever. John Croyle wasnt anything like that. You can say he was..but that doesnt make it true.

[CircleDrill 178]

I just lost any remaining respect that I had for Urban Cryer. He needs to be a man and tell that guy to get lost that he is hurting the team, and he does not want him around anymore. That is so freaking HIGH SCHOOL, man. The UFHS Gators.

[WarTim 3,463]

Pot-Kettle

Whatever. John Croyle wasnt anything like that. You can say he was..but that doesnt make it true.

Kinda' like the uat Hawaii "thing"?

Choose your words carefully bg.

[BamaGrad03 0]

Pot-Kettle

Whatever. John Croyle wasnt anything like that. You can say he was..but that doesnt make it true.

Kinda' like the uat Hawaii "thing"?

Choose your words carefully bg.

What are you talking about?

[BamaGrad03 0]

I also love how you cant even have a discussion about a FLORIDA situation around here without it going back to Alabama. I swear...even when i try to change the subject to a non bama flame war...you guys jump right back to it.

[tombigbeetiger 223]

i'll change the subject..........bammer sux....how's that?

[stoic-one 1,557]

I also love how you cant even have a discussion about a FLORIDA situation around here without it going back to Alabama. I swear...even when i try to change the subject to a non bama flame war...you guys jump right back to it.

Agreed!! (Well kinda)

Lashes with a wet noodle to DKW for the thread hijack

[DKW 86 7,727]

I strictly deny that...

I was talking with BG today about a very strong rumor that John Croyle was just as disruptive during the Alabama practices. We disagreed. He said there was no proof of this.

He posted this.

I said Pot-Kettle.

[stoic-one 1,557]

Ok then, we'll cut the lashes by half

[BamaGrad03 0]

I was more talking about Tim...david and I had a private volley goin on so i knew where that came from.

[otterinbham 0]

You know, I would have the following discussion with Mr. Tebow.

"Gosh, Mr. Tebow. We are so glad that your son is part of this team. In fact, we think he is the next great Florida quarterback. We cannot wait to see how he develops into his full potential.

In fact, I can say that about the other 90 fine young men out here. You don't see Mr. Leak out here, do you? Or the scout teams' fathers, do you?

That's because, football is a TEAM sport, and the rest of these fine young men are just that...Men. And they don't need their parents along to babysit them. Which is why you need to GET THE F*** OF MY FIELD BECAUSE IF YOU STAND HERE ONE MORE MINUTE BROWN NOSING ME YOU WILL CORRODE THIS TEAM'S MORALE FASTER THAN SALT WATER THROUGH THE ENGINE BLOCK OF A 71 PINTO.

Thank, you, Mr. Tebow, for letting me speak frankly. See you Saturday after the game, okay?"

That would be the right thing to say in this circumstance. It might anger the Tebows, but everybody else on that field will be glad that their coach finally grew a backbone.

[Tigermike 3,427]

I also love how you cant even have a discussion about a FLORIDA situation around here without it going back to Alabama. I swear...even when i try to change the subject to a non bama flame war...you guys jump right back to it.

Hey BG03, are you now saying you are glad Tebow didn't sign with Bama? And that you all knew all along that this would happen?

[BamaGrad03 0]

No. I still would have liked to have Tebow at Bama. Because he would have brought along with him about 4 key prospects that ended up going to UF and Auburn.

I still think he fits better in the meyer spread option than he does in a pro style offense.

besides his dad couldnt be at bama practices everyday. Ttown isnt exactly down the road from him .

[sogaaufan 27]

Wouldn't you love to know what's going through the D linemen's minds at practice? "Who is this little pantywaist that has to have his DADDY to stand out here at practice everyday so he don't get his little feelings hurt?" I bet they would love to get a shot at him to see what Daddy thinks about it. Seriously, this type of thing could turn into a cancer that tears the whole team apart. Urban needs to seize the window of opportunity before its too late.

[tigerfan1234 0]

Who cares? It's not Auburn's problem. If it tears the UF team apart then good for Auburn. That means we beat their butts in October. I say keep the father around so we get an advantage. Let's not jump on the Tebow hype machine like everyone else has. War Eagle!

[MDM4AU 337]

Who cares? It's not Auburn's problem. If it tears the UF team apart then good for Auburn. That means we beat their butts in October. I say keep the father around so we get an advantage. Let's not jump on the Tebow hype machine like everyone else has. War Eagle!

We'll beat them without the distraction. We don't need no stinkin' advantages...other than we are Auburn!

[BamaGrad03 0]

Did you guys watch the UF/Vandy replay on css yesterday...made me wonder why UF has so much hype behind them right now.

[WAR EAGLE!!! 0]

Did you guys watch the UF/Vandy replay on css yesterday...made me wonder why UF has so much hype behind them right now.

I watched the last quarter of that game also and thought the same thing. However, I think that a lot of the way that Vandy looked in the last quarter was thanks to Cutler. Although, Florida still couldn't move the ball or play any ball contrlol late in the game on that very stingy Vandy defense...

[jared52 4,356]

LOL, "bama" and "pro style" in the same sentence without "pays its players" in the middle... but I digress. (it wasn't actually used, but the "bama" was implied) :D

It doesn't seem that this writer is privy to the conversations that Meyer and Mr. Tebow are having. Maybe in the recruiting process they became friends. Maybe the reason Tebow, Jr. is so good is because of how his dad helped him along and he is serving as a free QB coach with a college level knowledge of the position. Maybe the writer is jealous and has a man crush on Meyer.

There's always two sides.

[quietfan 233]

LOL, "bama" and "pro style" in the same sentence without "pays its players" in the middle... but I digress. (it wasn't actually used, but the "bama" was implied) :D

It doesn't seem that this writer is privy to the conversations that Meyer and Mr. Tebow are having. Maybe in the recruiting process they became friends. Maybe the reason Tebow, Jr. is so good is because of how his dad helped him along and he is serving as a free QB coach with a college level knowledge of the position. Maybe the writer is jealous and has a man crush on Meyer.

There's always two sides.

Yes, of course there's two sides. But even if Tebow Sr is a QB expert or Urban Meyer's life-long lover, I can't help but feel his presence at every practice would have a poisonous effect on team morale. I think that would be true of any player's father seemingly having a unduly large influence on the practice field. If the other players didn't feel some resentment because they thought the son was getting preferential treatment, they might lose respect for the son as a "Momma's (Daddy's) boy" who was spoiled or immature. Either way, it would have to negatively impact team unity.

David & Kenny Irons' dad has been rather vocal on message boards and in the press. He's also done a good job of raising his sons and obviously has some football expertise. But he's not on the practice field everyday telling Tommy Tubervile how to do his job. Don Shula could obviously help Mikey when it came to coaching, but his presence at practice everyday would certainly undercut his son's authority and the respect (if any) the players had for Mike.

The article says Josh Portis' mom was guilty of pretty much the same thing last year and how'd that work out? Seems like Urban would have learned his lesson then. But speaking from an Auburn point of view, here's hoping Bob Tebow is on the Gator bus and sidelines continuing to disrupt things on October 14th!

[abrnfanatc 6]

It is becoming worse as the years go by. Too many parents have convinced their kids that they deserve to be the starter at (fill in position and school here) more than the guy currently starting.

If Meyer hasn't said anything to Mr. Tebow yet it would make you wonder what kind of program he is running down in Gainesville. Could you imagine that happening with Bryant or Dye?

Note to parents:

The Coaches are now making close to $2M a year to coach your sure fire, can't miss kids. Let them do their jobs!

[quietfan 233]

It is becoming worse as the years go by. Too many parents have convinced their kids that they deserve to be the starter at (fill in position and school here) more than the guy currently starting.

In contrast (and perhaps someone can find the link quickly--I just read it in the last week or so), when CTT told David Irons Sr. he was going to bench Kenny and not start him in one of the first games last season, Mr. Irons responded "Good...it's just what Kenny needs to get his head together and get serious" (my paraphrasing). We all know what kind of benefits that reaped for the rest of the season!