Peyton Manning could again be a valuable asset to Broncos

Peyton Manning knows his football, and the man of many talents could be a very valuable asset to the Denver Broncos once again…

Peyton Manning may have retired as a professional football player, but is the legendary quarterback done with football all together?

I don’t think so.

Over the past year, rumors have been running rampant about Manning’s future. There was a fun rumor about Manning’s presence in Los Angeles, meeting with some members of the Rams’ front office. There have been a number of interesting rumors involving the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts as well.

Heck, the state of Tennessee probably wouldn’t mind if Manning came in and worked as the Athletic Director and head coach of their football team.

But Manning’s connection with the Denver Broncos remains interesting.

Manning was recently in the news in Denver for sinking a hole-in-one at Cherry Hills Country Club, and one name on his group card was very intriguing to me:

President, Chairman, and CEO of the Denver Broncos Joe Ellis.

Manning still lives in Colorado and obviously has a ton of connections with the Broncos. He also has apparently ‘long’ had interest in joining an NFL team in a front office capacity, despite his reputation as an offensive coordinator on the field when he played quarterback.

Manning has an eye for talent, it seems, and after reading Cameron Parker’s piece about John Elway needing some help in the front office, the idea wheels got to turning…

I’m going to cut the rest of the fluff and just get to my idea quickly here:

The Denver Broncos should hire Manning as a top consultant to John Elway and have him help lead the charge in their quarterback search for 2018.

Not only that, but I think it would be interesting to see Elway perhaps offer Manning his own job if/when Elway decides to buy stake in the Broncos and become owner/part owner of the team.

There’s nothing about that scenario that is set in stone, but think about Manning’s options for a moment:

He could work with Jim Irsay and Chris Ballard in Indianapolis, but that situation is not a small undertaking and working for Irsay could prove to be borderline impossible for Manning. The Colts appear to already have an established hierarchy in their front office, though Manning could certainly see the allure in returning to the team that drafted him back in 1998.

Manning could take on the role of reviving the Cleveland Browns franchise, but…really?

For his first NFL front office job, would Manning really want to attach his work to the Cleveland Browns? Perhaps he would see that as the greatest challenge, and as a competitor, feel like that was where he could create the most lasting legacy.

I don’t think Manning, a very smart businessman, would see the Browns as a good business opportunity because of the current state of their franchise.

The other option that’s been somewhat floated out there is in Los Angeles With the Rams, but that’s another team that appears to be well-established and really not needing Manning’s expertise.

Think about the situation the Broncos present here:

The Broncos offer the opportunity for Manning to learn under Elway for a year, two years, or however long he wants (months, even) before he takes the best opportunity presented to him to run a team of his own.

Manning doesn’t seem to be the type of person to just jump into something without calculating his steps beforehand, which is why I think we’ve seen him floating around to different NFL facilities this past year and checking in with coaches, general managers, former teammates and friends in the league, and really getting a feel for how things work in that capacity.

Again, Manning is very calculated.

Living in Denver already, the situation is perfect for Manning because the Broncos clearly need someone to come in and give them an outside opinion on what player can be this team’s franchise quarterback going forward.

Manning would be as good a consultant as anyone, and would perhaps have the opportunity in Denver for further responsibilities.

Elway could hire Manning to consult not only on the quarterback search in Denver, but on Denver’s draft as a whole.

Heck, he could even utilize his connections to bring Eli to Denver, where they would have a unique opportunity to work with each other for the first time, well, ever.

More from Predominantly Orange

In a hypothetical world, Manning would come in and absorb some of Elway’s responsibilities — not all, but some — and help with the evaluation process over the course of this coming draft season, which will be of critical importance to the Broncos.

Perhaps Manning wants more responsibility right away, and if that’s the case, the Broncos might not be the best option for him.

But if Manning wants to take a year to learn while also having the perfect fallback in case of failure (Elway), the Broncos are an ideal option, especially since he already lives there.

Manning successfully helping the Broncos in selecting a new quarterback would only enhance his already fantastic reputation around the league, and would put him at the top of teams’ lists for general manager work, especially after seeing how quickly John Lynch has adapted with the 49ers.

The difference with Lynch, to me, is that he had multiple years of a bird’s eye view of the league, calling games for FOX and meeting coaches and players while watching what does and doesn’t work in today’s NFL from afar.

Lynch had a great advantage in that regard.

Manning has seen the league only from the player’s eye up until this past season. He knows what type of work ethic it takes to make it in the NFL, and perhaps if he had consulted in 2016, the Broncos wouldn’t have been in this predicament they are currently in at the quarterback position.

This may have no traction whatsoever, but if Manning is interested in a front office job, Elway should get creative and find a way to get him on the Broncos’ payroll once again.

Home/Broncos Rumors