Tim Tebow says he won't leave Mets to join Urban Meyer with Jaguars
The Mets' Tim Tebow talks to the media during a spring training workout on Feb. 16, 2020, at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
Is Mets minor-leaguer Tim Tebow going to give up his quixotic quest to play major league baseball and rejoin his old college football coach, Urban Meyer, with the Jacksonville Jaguars?
No, Tebow said Thursday in a video interview with TMZ Sports. The former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback under Meyer at Florida said he is not interested in trading in his bat and glove for a helmet and pads with the Jaguars.
"Obviously, me and Coach are so close and we’ve talked about a lot of different things over the years," Tebow said. "But for me, I’m super-excited about spring training. So that’s where my focus kind of sport-wise is right now. But are you kidding me? I loved playing for Coach and will always be supportive of him."
Tebow, 33, missed the 2020 season as the minor leagues were shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He last played for Triple-A Syracuse in 2019, hitting .163 with four home runs and striking out in 98 of his 264 plate appearances before suffering a season-ending finger injury.
It seems unlikely that Tebow will ever be good enough to play in the major leagues, but the Mets are going to give him another year to try.
"I’ve got a lot of work to do," Tebow said. "I need to be able to get to work and hopefully have a good spring training and improve. Just continue to try and earn a shot."
Tebow, who last played in the NFL with the Jets in 2012, said Meyer is "like a father figure to me. We talk all the time."
But Tebow indicated that if he visits the Jaguars, it likely will be as a motivational speaker, not a quarterback. Meyer is expected to draft Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 pick to begin the rebuilding of the Jaguars, who went 1-15 this season.
Tebow said he is looking forward to reporting to spring training next month and meeting Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, whom the club acquired from Cleveland earlier this month.
"Baller," Tebow said. "It’s awesome. I love the joy, the passion that he brings. Just from afar — I’ve never met him — I love that about him. I think it’s contagious."
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
