I’ve heard reports before of Peyton Manning pulling a John Elway and jumping directly into an NFL front office job, but Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says it very well could happen.
Both the Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans would have interest in giving Peyton Manning a front office job should he retire after the season, La Canfora reports.
Manning has a strong relationship with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam from their ties to the state of Tennessee, and Haslam’s interest in having Manning in a management/ownership role are long known (dating back several years to his interest in the Titans at the time). The Titans have already essentially wiped their entire organizational slate clean for 2016 from team president on down in what’s likely a precursor to a pursuit of Manning, who has told friends for years how much he might enjoy living in Tennessee after his playing days are over.
Haslam has been conferring with his inner circle about how sweeping to make coaching and front office changes for 2016, and ultimately, as much as he dislikes his well-earned reputation for quickly firing people, the rampant failure of his current regime to either win games (two wins since last Nov. 22) or develop players will likely force his hand to reinvent his structure again. Manning is very attractive to him in a role similar to what John Elway has with the Broncos, and landing Manning would be seen as a coup for any owner.
The Titans have a team president with an expiring contract, a general manager in limbo and only an interim head coach in place, which would allow the organization’s next president a chance to essentially rebuild the entire infrastructure of the team, and to do so with a potential franchise quarterback (Marcus Mariota) in place.
Manning has a super personality, so could have his choice of television jobs as well. From a geographical perspective, the Titans make the most sense.
We’ll see.
By Glenn Erby
