Greg Schiano says Mike Glennon can win the starting job for the Buccaneers

Mike Glennon will compete for a starting job. Oh good.

By Sander Philipse May 19, 2013, 8:31am EDT

The quarterback controversy continues! This time, Greg Schiano fuels the Mike Glennon/Josh Freeman quarterback controversy, while simultaneously reinforcing that Josh Freeman is the starter. Oh yes, good fun. Here's what he told Dan Pompei of the National Football Post.

Schiano said he believes Glennon "can play quickly" if he is needed. "But our situation will be only if he's needed," he said. "Or if he wins the job. Look, I'm not against that. We have a starting quarterback. It's not like we're looking to find a starter. But competition is competition. Mike Glennon is a fierce competitor. I knew that when he was coming out of high school. Now being able to work with him a little, you can see it on the practice field."

I'm just going to go ahead and bang my head against the wall a couple of times.

Right, with a newly formed headache, I can look at this a little more clearly. In part, this is Schiano reaffirming his motto of competition at every position. In part it's simply reaffirming what we already knew: that the Buccaneers aren't completely sold on Freeman, which is perfectly reasonable given his inconsistent play so far. And yet, this is the first time the Bucs have come out and said that Glennon really could win the starting job and would compete directly with Freeman.

Not that it's particularly likely that Glennon wins the starting job. There's a lot to like about Mike Glennon, but he had a lot of issues in college too. Which is why he fell to the third round in a very weak quarterback class. The Bucs like Glennon, but they did pass on him in the second round to take Johnthan Banks. Obviously, they didn't feel he was an immediate franchise quarterback, either. Add in the fact that this team desperately wants to win now, and rookie quarterbacks tend to stand in the way of winning now (Glennon is no RG3) and Freeman is almost certain to remain the starting quarterback.

Plus, Schiano did throw a compliment Freeman's way. "[Glennon] has the ability, and Josh [Freeman] has the ultimate ability to keep the eyes downfield," he told Pompei. "I've never seen a guy who is as good at keeping his eyes down the field as Josh. Josh has more mobility."

Still, the Buccaneers are setting Mike Glennon up to take over at any point this season if Freeman falters. Whether that faltering comes during the season or in the preseason, we may see Glennon show up as a starter. Of course, if Freeman doesn't falter we may not see Glennon at all.

Training camp preview: tight ends

Josh Freeman ranks 25th for NFL.com

Dwight Freeney signs with the Chargers

Glennon competes, or something