Don’t push Glenn out — he’s still an asset

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/02/2009 (6389 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Right about now, Kevin Glenn might be hunkered down at the Tim Hortons franchise he co-owns near Detroit, perhaps ensuring the coffee is hot, the Timbits are fresh and the crullers aren’t going stale.

We’d also hazard a guess he’s also spending a fair bit of time these days wondering about his new football address and what colour uniform he might pull on in 2009.

Well, here’s a thought, as so many seem so eager to help him pack to expedite his exit from Winnipeg and the Blue Bombers:

Why not keep him?

Look, we understand this issue already has many in the Bomber nation divided. There are those tho have grown impatient watching Glenn during his 4 1/2 years as the starting quarterback, undoubtedly demanding a change at the most critical position on the field as the team’s Grey Cup drought hits 18 years and counting.

Then there is a faction who, while intrigued by what Stefan Lefors, Ryan Dinwiddie, Bryan Randall and Timmy Chang bring to the position, are wondering about the risk involved in handing the controls of the offence to a group of talented but virtually untested CFL neophytes. Count us among the latter.

Now understand that we’ve been as critical of Glenn as any in these parts — we can still recall in detail the "discussion" we had last September when we suggested he had been awful through the first half of the 2008 season — but we don’t get the desire to weaken the position by simply cutting him outright before he is due a roster bonus this Sunday if a trade can’t be consummated in the interim.

A couple items to consider before all the Glenn-haters tear this piece from the sports pages and use it as bird-cage liner:

"ö In the last four years, Glenn has thrown 89 touchdowns. That’s 76 more than Lefors (6), Dinwiddie (6), Chang (1) and Randall (1) combined and fourth among current CFL starters Henry Burris (119), Anthony Calvillo (114) and Ricky Ray (94).

"ö His record as a starter is 38-40-1 which, we realize, is hardly something to highlight on your resumé, but he is still just 29 and was the East Division’s Most Outstanding Player in 2007.

"ö His salary, including the reported $50,000 bonus due this weekend, is around $250,000 — considerably less than Calvillo, Burris, Ray and Kerry Joseph, who just last week had his contract renewed by the Toronto Argonauts.

Obviously, we understand there are many negatives, including Glenn’s lack of mobility and the fact he threw a league-high 20 interceptions last season. There are also the questions about his leadership and durability.

But right now, Glenn is still an asset for this organization, although his return for training camp in June would no doubt create a bit of a circus sideshow and some pressing, possibly cancerous, questions.

How comfortable would he be here, knowing management suggested he needed a change of scenery after dealing for LeFors? How would he handle being the No. 2 QB after starting for most of the last five years? And how would his mere presence hinder the development of other prospects who need as much time on the field as possible?

Still, here’s something else to consider, even as the negatives are weighed: The market value for Glenn right now might be negligible, especially with the Bombers openly shopping him and the whole league waiting to see if he’ll be released before the weekend, but it could spike considerably in season the minute another CFL starter is lost to injury.

That’s to say nothing of a scenario where Glenn, left alone to call his own plays last season, blossoms under Mike Kelly’s guidance — as the new boss suggested he might when he first got the job last December — giving the Bombers depth and time as LeFors & Co. grow into the gig.

What we’re preaching here about Glenn, then, is essentially the same message financial advisers all over the globe are telling stockholders during the recession: patience. The Bombers can cut him now and, we expect, watch him resurface elsewhere quickly. Or they can ride it out for a spell and make their decisions from a position of strength if the market changes.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca