Vince Young

          There is an obvious change occurring in the NFL today, a makeover that was many years in the making has finally come to a head. It is the evolution of the quarterback position. Sure, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, Dante Culpepper and even as far back as Randall Cunningham were anomalies of the position. Not particularly for the color of their skin, though it seems that is often the case, but more for their incredible athletic prowess. Today the NFL is littered with quarterbacks who fit this physical prototype. Lightning fast, quick on their feet and generally they're equipped with cannons for arms. Cam Newton, Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson are a few names that come to mind. However I'd like to take a moment to talk about the superstar that almost happened. Vince Young.

Vince Young after the Rose Bowl win

          Vince Young was a highly touted quarterback out of the University of Texas in 2006. He was fresh off an undefeated season where he lead the Longhorns to a National Championship in one of the most exciting football games I've ever seen. His performance in that game was nothing short of magical. He was 30/40 for 267 yards through the air, and still had the time to run 19 times for 200 yards and 3 TDs. Absolutely phenomenal. He was the Heisman runner-up that year to a man whose name is no longer on the trophy (*cough Reggie Bush) and he was essentially on top of the world. Young was drafted by the Tennessee Titans 3rd overall, behind only Mario Williams and Reggie Bush, and was set to become a potential franchise player. Sure, his side-arm delivery created some accuracy issues and scouts weren't exactly sure he was ready to lead a team of men just yet, but it is rare that a quarterback can come straight out of college and instantly be a field general.

          However here is where the fairy tale begins to unravel. Young had a head coach named Jeff Fisher. Fisher was and is a great football coach, but the overarching opinion is that Fisher wasn't on the Vince Young bandwagon when he was drafted. Yet Young was still the starter when opening day came around and that team went 8-8. Young would start the nest season as well, only his second year, and lead the team to 4 remarkable comeback victories that drove them into the playoffs with a 10-6 record. His stats weren't mind blowing, in fact they were mediocre at best, but the kid could make plays and win big games. The key here is this, the offense he was playing in was nothing like the offense he played in at Texas. The read option, Young's bread and butter, was not a huge facet of the offense, and most of Young's runs were simply because he was running for his life due to an offensive line that was sub par. Fisher never catered his offense to Young's talent. Instead he tried to mold Young, a 6'5" 229 lb athlete with 4.5 speed, into a pocket passer. And it failed.

          What did anyone expect? Young was never a pocket passer, that's not why he was drafted. Young was a playmaker who was at his best when he was making defenders look silly with ball fakes and juke moves. I won't sit back and pretend to be free of bias, because I'm not. I was a huge Vince Young fan while he was at Texas and I wanted him to succeed in the NFL. He had his chance and he missed it. But imagine that same Vince Young coming out of college today, the same 4.5 speed with a body that can withstand the contact and a rocket for an arm, coming off an undefeated national championship season. That remind you of anybody? It should, because it happened about 2 years ago. His name is Cam Newton. Newton is an NFL starter, who had an offense catered to his talents, and a coach who was on board with an offensive overhaul.
          Now look around the rest of the league. Mike Shanahan and Robert Griffin III. Harbaugh and Colin Kaepernick. Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson. All of these coaches have something in common, they were willing to change to suit the talent they had. They're also winning football games. Had Vince Young been given that same opportunity coming out of college, a coach who wasn't so set in his ways that he overlooked a diamond in the rough, I believe that Young would have been the one to set the NFL on the path toward the read option offense. Now I'm not suggesting that Vince Young can come onto a team right now and create the kind of success that the new crop of quarterbacks have, perhaps that would be too much to ask of a 29-year-old journeyman quarterback. My question however, is why the hell does Vince Young not even have a job?

          With all of the read option offenses in the league, and all the small fragile quarterbacks who are running them, you would think that some coach would want some sort of a plan B. Cam Newton's backup is Derek Anderson, who probably timed his 40 yard dash with a sundial. Colin Kaepernick's backup was a guy named Alex Smith, but he's since been traded and I can't even name their backup. Russell Wilson's backup was also a very immobile Matt Flynn, who has since been traded. So with all of these open jobs as a backup in an offense that Young knows like the back of his hand, why is his phone not ringing off the hook to come in and be a backup. At least with Young coming in there would be no need to redo your entire offense should your starter get injured.
          Yet he still has no job. And maybe it's because he had some off the field issues that coaches want to stay away from. Or maybe his report card says he doesn't play nice with others. Maybe NFL coaches have blackballed Young because he tried to "retire" after 3 seasons, or because he declared the Eagles the dream team that ended up being a nightmare. Hell maybe it's because he really can't read NFL defenses that well and frequently throws horrible interceptions. But I would imagine he'd be at least worth one phone call, one tryout. What is there to lose?