When it comes to NFL general managers, Duke Tobin (respectfully) may be one of, if not the worst in the business. Surely there is nothing in the world Duke Tobin could be worse at than being a General Manager. Well, buckle up. Today we dive into answering the age-old question, “Was Duke Tobin a better player than he is a GM?”
The year is 1989, in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where the John Hersey High School Huskies are celebrating their second IHSA Football State Championship win in a row, racking up what, to this day, are the only two state championship titles Hersey High School have. Amongst the celebrating players, is star senior quarterback, Duke Tobin. Tobin’s success on the field actually led to him being a very highly recruited prospect by many of the top universities. However, there could only be one winner in the eventual Duke Tobin sweepstakes, and that winner, was the University of Illinois.
Tobin was on his way to become a hopeful Hometown Hero, entering his freshman year as a Fighting Illini in his home state. Tobin would go on to attempt only 2 passes his freshman year at the bottom of the QB depth chart, completing one of them for a total of 6 yards. This season could be argued as far more successful than any year Tobin has had as a General Manager.
Despite Tobin’s elite freshman year, he ultimately decided to transfer at the season’s end. Tobin would form a Super Team, joining the 1990 Big-Eight champions, the Colorado Buffaloes. Due to previous transfer rules, Tobin would sit out the entire ’91 season before suiting up for the 1992 Buffaloes year as a backup to Kordell Stewart, a quarterback who would go on to become a second round draft pick and eventual pro bowler for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
1992 was the best year of Tobin’s collegiate career despite still being a backup. On the year, Tobin attempted a whopping 28 passes, completing 13 of them (46% cmp) for a total of 186 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 INT. He also had -5 receiving yards on the season somehow, so lots happening here. The following season, Toppin spent his senior year doing what he did best in holding down the bench once again. Tobin would get 6 pass attempts this season completing 3 of them for 39 yards.
As he finished up his college stint, 99% of humans would assume this is the end of his playing career (as it should have been). However, for some reason, there was a professional team out there that must have known something the rest of the world hadn’t, or possibly they called the wrong guy. But the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League signed Tobin to their active roster, and the Duke Tobin resurgence was underway.
If you were to rank Tobin’s career as a college player, an arena football player, and an NFL GM, his career as an arena football player may weirdly be his best stint. While short lived, Tobin played 2 seasons in the AFL between 2 teams. In his first year with the Predators, Tobin found himself as the team’s starting quarterback. While the team was near the bottom of league standings, Tobin had played his best ball since high school, putting up season totals of 49/85 passing for 678 yards, 12 TD (9 passing, 3 rushing) and 7 interceptions.
At the season’s end, Tobin would leave Orlando to join the Memphis Pharoahs, where he would only get 1 snap the entire season after an injury to their starting quarterback, using the play to tally 3 rushing yards on the season. It was after this year that Tobin decided it was time to hang up his team sweats, and his years of being a Glue Guy in the locker room and a leader on the sideline were ready to come to an end.
So there it is. The playing career of Bengals GM Duke Tobin. What a ride it was, leaving behind one of the greatest “What If” scenarios in Arena Football League history, leaving fans wondering how good he could have been if he had stuck around with the Orlando Predators. Yet, instead Tobin continues to answer the age-old NFL “What If” scenario on an annual basis, being “What if Duke Tobin just never paid a singular good player for the entirety of his tenure as GM of the Cincinnati Bengals?” With the answer being, it would result in a GM career even worse than his days as a player.
Let’s pay some guys this free agency.