Colts owner Jim Irsay today said that former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is not in the picture to replace general manager Ryan Grigson with the franchise.
“I wouldn’t say he’s in the picture,” Irsay said.
Irsay did confirm that he and Manning have talked in the past year, going back to the Super Bowl reunion, but he said that “there was never any serious negotiations” about Manning taking over the GM job. Irsay said he’d welcome the chance to bring Manning back in some role with the franchise in the future, but that Manning is only a year away from playing in the NFL and that he’s enjoying retirement. So he’s not an option for the general manager position.
This surely puts a damper on those hopes for Colts fans, but a few things are worth paying attention to. First of all, Irsay said that there was never any negotiations for the general manager job, whereas the reports have indicated Manning joining the franchise as the head of football operations. That’s probably just semantics, but it’s worth mentioning. It’s also worth mentioning that Irsay talked about how Manning is enjoying retirement, as that would correspond to reports that Manning didn’t feel ready to take the job.
The bottom line, however, is that Manning won’t be riding in to save the day for the franchise and instead they will be going on an “extensive” general manager search, which will include Jimmy Raye III, Irsay confirmed. It does sound like the door is still open for a reunion with Manning in the future, however.