This isn’t a Dolphins item per se, but does have a lot of Florida connections: Tim Tebow, the rival Jets and now-retired special teams coach Mike Westhoff, who just retired after 27 years as an NFL special teams coordinator (15 with Miami, the last 12 with the Jets).
Tim Tebow wasn't happy with the way he was used by the Jets in 2012, and neither was special teams coach Mike Westhoff / AP
Westhoff was a guest Friday morning on 560 WQAM with Joe Rose, and didn’t hold back when asked about the Jets’ decision not to play Tebow much this year and the circus-like atmosphere that surrounded the team.
“It was an absolute mess,” said Westhoff, 65. “It was a distraction and really a shame, because that’s a hard-working young man.”
The Jets became the NFL’s biggest story when they traded for Tebow in March, and many people believed he would serve as a jack-of-all-trades weapon at tight end, H-back and, of course, Wildcat quarterback, particularly with Tony Sparano serving as offensive coordinator.
Westhoff believed the Jets would use Tebow in that fashion, too, but it never happened. Tebow threw just eight passes all season and was leap-frogged by Greg McElroy when Mark Sanchez missed a game due to injury. Tebow also ran just 32 times for 102 yards and zero touchdowns, and was used sparingly out of the Wildcat.
“Tim Tebow, as an NFL quarterback, he’s very limited in some things, and if you throw him right in the middle of a drop-back passing offense, he will look very, very average at best,” Westhoff said. “But if you incorporate him in different facets of your offense, I think he can be a factor. That’s what I felt we were going to do, but we never did it.”
“To be honest, I don’t think anybody’s really answered that question – why didn’t we do it? I honestly don’t know. I know we didn’t practice it, we didn’t practice it in training camp. We were going to unveil it – well, I’m still waiting for the unveiling.”
Tebow instead was relegated to special teams duty, used mostly as the “punt protector,” but Westhoff said Tebow only became a full-time special teams player when Eric Smith suffered a knee injury.
“My role with (Tebow) was really only to be 1 percent. That’s all I was thinking. Then when Eric Smith was hurt, I had to use him full time,” Westhoff said. “Most of the stuff he did for me was outstanding. But it was supposed to only be a fraction, (and) it ended up being his only role.”
Westhoff said Tebow was frustrated and downcast by the end of the season. The Jets are expected to release him this offseason if they cannot find a trading partner.
“It was a shame to see when you saw a demeanor change – you saw that swagger come out of him a little bit and that was very disheartening to see that,” Westhoff said. “I would just encourage him to keep his head up and that his opportunity would come, and a few things like that.”
