The X’s and O’s of Tim Tebow, a podcast produced by Doug Farrar on Shutdown Corner featuring Cecil Lammey, provides great analysis on the Broncos quarterback.

I had the pleasure of speaking with former NFL scout Russ Lande this week in Atlanta about Tebow, and Lande shared an excellent back story about Broncos coach John Fox that I think adds to the confluence of events that helped create this situation in Denver.

Lande explained that after John Fox left the Oakland Raiders he was hired as a consultant for the St. Louis Rams where Lande was working at the time as a scout. Lande was assigned to break down tape to assist Fox in a presentation of information and as they worked together, the future Carolina and Denver head coach told Lande that he agreed with the great Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne that the option could work in the NFL

Fox told Lande that if he were given the opportunity to coach for an organization that had management with the courage to do so, he’d try to bring the option to the NFL. As Farrar and Lammey mention in the podcast, it was John Fox who initially brought the Wildcat to the NFL. And it only goes to show that the combination of Tebow’s skill sets, Fox’s affinity for the option, and personnel man Brian Xanders’ flexibility has produced the most intriguing story of the NFL season.