Peyton Manning has ruled out coaching, but the future Hall of Famer still could run a team one day.
He has prepared for that possibility by visiting various teams and picking the brains of General Managers and coaches since retiring after the 2015 season.
“You retire and you sort of try to figure out, OK, what’s Chapter 2 going to be?” Manning said, via Kalyn Kahler of Bleacher Report.
Manning told Kahler he has had meetings and serious conversations about opportunities in management. Kahler cited a source who insists Manning has received “offers to run teams.”
But Manning denied it. Sort of.
“I have had conversations with different people,” Manning said. “But I have never had a formal contract offer, nothing in writing. I have had football conversations that I think, you know, they are probably gauging my interest, and I am asking them questions about what their direction is.”
The Browns may have had interest in hiring Manning at one point and possibly the Colts, too. But shifting into a front office is “just not something that I have moved on yet,” Manning said.
“I think people assume that I have been offered a Browns role, but that is just not true,” Manning said. “What’s the old saying? Be careful going to work for your friends [because] you might ruin a friendship, you know? [Browns owner] Jimmy [Haslam] and I talk a lot, and I think sometimes Jimmy talks about what is on my radar and what am I thinking about almost more as a friend. As an adviser, if you will. I never really felt like he was asking for his personal views.”
Manning has no experience scouting players. He also has no formal experience as a NFL analyst doing a game broadcast.
Yet, Manning is highly sought after and quickly would have a job in either arena should he ever want it. It’s his call.