Vince Young is not a starting quarterback in the NFL right now, and he shouldn’t be. He is not a starter in title, as the Titans just announced they will be getting rid of him, and he is not a starter in performance, maturity, or leadership ability.

And in my humble opinion, he will never get there if some sad-sack, QB-less NFL team (I’m looking at you Dolphins and 49ers) brings him in as a starter.

The problem with Vince Young is not talent or ability. He has boatloads of both. We saw it in college, and we’ve seen it intermittently throughout his NFL career. The problem with Vince Young is maturity and commitment. He has neither, at least not on any consistent basis. To acquire both – which he will need to fulfill his vast potential and become a legitimate winning starting quarterback – Vince needs to change. And to change, he needs – as all of us do – an impetus to change.

And this brings me to my main point, and the reason why any NFL GM who brings in Vince Young as a starter is a fool.

If you hand Vince Young another starting QB gig, you remove any impetus to change that might have been kick-started by his biggest cheerleader, Bud Adams, kicking him to the curb.

MSF’s good buddy Robert Littal from Black Sports Online summed it up nicely with a few tweets I just saw pass through my feed while writing this:

I want Vince Young to succeed, but if he goes to another team and the baby him, not going to work..he is 27 years old I have a little leniency when you are 20, 21..all men were a bit dumb about life then…but 27, 28? Take out the pacifier Look at it like this..Vince Young was a good QB with terrible work habits and paper tissue feelings..Imagine if he applied himself fully

Here is the thing about guys like Vince Young and Terrelle Pryor and LeBron James – examples of guys who seem to constantly frustrate sports fans by saying or doing things that suggest that they do not adhere to our general notions of “getting it”. All of these guys, and many others like them, have been coddled and babied their entire athletic lives. They have always been the best and most important players on their teams and are more talented than their opponent 99 times out of 100. Even when they screw up, get beaten, and are exposed for having “paper tissue feelings” or not enough mental toughness or common sense, someone is always there to apologize for them, say it’s okay, and try to prop them back up because, damnit, their team needs them to win!

Just look at the long line of former Texas Longhorns who have had trouble transitioning to NFL life once separated from the protective womb and then nurturing teat of Mack Brown and the city of Austin. Ricky Williams. Roy Williams. Chris Simms. Cedric Benson. Sergio Kindle. I could go on and on. I only point this out because I think Young’s issues with maturity and accountability were exacerbated by going to a school that, in relative terms, requires neither of its football players.

And before you think this has anything to do with race, since I just named three black guys, it’s not. Ryan Leaf was like this. Jason Williams was like this. Tate Forcier is like this. And plenty others. This is far from a black/white thing and much more a coddled, spoiled athlete thing.

Vince Young has the potential to still be a very good quarterback in the NFL. Line up all of the QBs in the league right now for a wide-ranging quarterback skills challenge, and Young would be one of the most impressive participants. And even more than his skills, Young has the charisma and natural confidence to lead a football team…but only when he proves he can lead by example first.

Any NFL team that would hand VY the keys to an offense would be doing both its franchise and Young a disservice. Right now, Young’s career hangs in the balance because he failed to take advantage of the multitudes of chances he was given by the Titans. If there is ever going to be a catalyst for him to change, this is it. Give him another starting job, and the nice little chunk of change that goes along with it, and such change never is given time to happen, nor needs to. He will remain convinced that nothing in Tennessee was his fault and that it just takes having a coach who “trusts him” and “gives him the love” for him to succeed.

Bullshit. If Vince Young had the drive and maturity to be an NFL quarterback, Jeff Fisher would have trusted and loved him as much as he did Steve McNair. Young could not be more wrong and off base. Vince Young is the reason Vince Young failed in Tennessee, not Jeff Fisher. One has NFL skins on the wall and a track record of success, the other does not. If you accept Young’s pathetic rationalization for his own failures in Tennessee, you’re as big a fool as he often shows himself to be.

If I seem harsh in my criticism this morning, I’m glad. That’s kind of the point. I like Vince Young and have always wanted to see him become a really good NFL quarterback because he’s exciting and fun to watch. The NFL would be better with a Vince Young-led team being annual an playoff X-factor. I’m hoping that the tone of this post serves as metaphor for the kind of tone I think any prospective Young employer should take. Vince hasn’t earned a starting NFL gig. All he’s earned is a chance to be a backup and to work his way back to the position his talent suggests he should be: starter.

If you give a guy something he hasn’t earned, why will he ever think he has to work to earn it?

Some NFL team can make a great investment in its future by bringing Vince Young in as a backup and placing the onus on him to earn the trust and love he’s always just been given. If he can find humility, maturity, and commitment, there is still plenty of time for him to grow into the dynamic force and leader we all know he can be. Now it’s up to him. All the pressure is on his shoulders, and that’s exactly where it should be now that his get-out-of-jail-free cards are used up and the benefit of the doubt is gone.

We’ll all get a chance now to see what Vince Young is made of, and for the first time in his athletic life the full brunt of the responsibility should be on him to do so.