ESPN is known for its coverage of Tim Tebow, but Mark Schlereth and Hannah Storm were caught in a hot mic moment and could be heard doubting his NFL future.
While covering Super Bowl Media Day on Tuesday during a broadcast, ESPN NFL analyst Mark Schlereth and anchor Hannah Storm could be heard talking to each other about an unnamed player, widely believed to be Tebow.
The broadcast had cut suddenly from an interview with 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to a shot of Storm and Schlereth seated at the ESPN table. Schlereth could be heard saying:
"... it's like a tight end, h-back instead of a quarterback," Schlereth could be heard saying as the broadcast switched to the unsuspecting pair. "But I'll tell you something, I've talked to a bunch of the Broncos coaches and they're like, 'I just don't know if he's a fluid enough athlete to go over and play tight end. He doesn't catch the ball naturally, either.'"
Schlereth spent a large part of his 12-year career with the Broncos, so he knows the organization and the people in it. His assessment is likely why Tebow did not work out with the Jets.
General manager Mike Tannenbaum spoke to ESPNNewYork.com about the acquisition on Tuesday.
"We thought there was a role for him," Tannenbaum told Rich Cimini of ESPN New York in his first public comments since being fired. "Working with Rex every day, and seeing the way the league has evolved with the ball being in the quarterback's hands and making plays with your feet, we thought it would give us a chance to make our offense more dynamic. It just didn't work out that way."
This season Tebow played in only 77 offensive played and gained 102 rushing yards on 32 carries. He made only eight pass attempts and completed six of them for 39 yards.