When the Colts last fired a head coach, they turned to former Colts center Jeff Saturday to be the head coach. Now that the Colts have fired general manager Chris Ballard, the Colts could turn to former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.
On the Monday edition of his daily radio and television show, Dan Patrick made a connection between the Colts and their Hall of Fame quarterback.
“The Colts’ first call will/has been to Peyton Manning“, Patrick said. “The call will not only get names and suggestions, but it will explore whether or not Peyton would be interested in becoming general manager of the Colts as an entry point that would include an ownership stake in the Colts.
“So now you have the opportunity to put Peyton back in Indy as general manager and part owner. And he gets to pick his quarterback. So now all of a sudden the community is going to love it. The league would love it. Would Peyton love it?”
Mike Chappell of Fox59/CBS4 has since reported that the Colts I haven’t contacted yet in Manning. As Chappel notes, that doesn’t mean they won’t.
The roles of GM and co-owner are distinct. Under the rules, Manning could not be offered shares as part of compensation for his role as chief executive. But he could be asked separately to buy part of the team in a below-market sweetheart deal with Tom Brady.
And the general manager position would necessarily become Peyton’s professional focal point. He doesn’t do anything by halves or halves. If he ever became a general manager, he would do everything he could to be the best general manager he could be.
It probably wouldn’t mean more ManningCast. That might mean moving away from Omaha Productions. It’s one thing to divide attention among projects that make money, regardless of how much time the company leader spends on them; When wins and losses are tied to effort, a different type of competitive juice begins to flow.
Manning has resisted that temptation since he retired a decade ago. He seems to be fully aware of what he would do if he allowed himself to re-enter an arena that relies on the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
So while it makes perfect sense that the Colts would want him now, if Manning wanted to live this life, he probably would already be doing it.
Gn sports
