Now that the Denver Broncos have hired a new coach in Gary Kubiak, what does it mean for the future of the face of the franchise? Will Peyton Manning ride of into the sunset? Or will he return?
We talked to the “insidiest” (we just made that word up) of all insiders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter, about the future of Peyton Manning.
The podcast of our exclusive conversation is below.
Peyton Manning talk begins at the 5 minute mark:
Schefter doesn’t believe that yesterday’s news of the Kubiak hiring has a lot of consequence on how Manning will make his decision.
“Peyton Manning, if he’s physically and mentally capable of playing again, he will. He just needs some time to come to that decision. It’s not a decision that he can arrive at in late January,” said Schefter.
“He’s going to need into February, and March, possibly April to make that decision. Ultimately, he’s such a competitor, he has such a love of the game that if I had to bet today, my guess, and it’s just a guess, would be that he would come back.”
“And the Head Coach, unless it was somebody that he really disliked he wouldn’t be back. And he happens to like and respect Gary Kubiak. If he decides to play I think he’s good with Gary Kubiak. The coach, whoever it is, or whoever it was going to be, was not going to be a major factor in whether he played or not played this season,” Schefter continued.
Schefter was named “Most Influential Tweeter in N.Y.” by New York Magazine, and Sports Illustrated‘s “media person of the year. He was also voted the NFL’s best insider by USA Today three years in a row, 2009-11.
Here’s what the NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport on Peyton Manning:
“Peyton Manning I’m told is still undecided about whether or not he wants to come back and play football. He’s still a month away from having to pass that physical and a guaranteed $19 million of salary. But I am told that Peyton Manning was not surprised at the major changes that happened after the Broncos season. They knew that if they didn’t make the Super Bowl this was possible.
“Actually, it was after the Rams game where John Elway wondered is this team tough enough? Is this actually as good as it gets? Talking to other general managers around the league, they wonder is John Elway engineering it so that Peyton Manning doesn’t come back. They took away his head coach [and] offensive coordinator. He’s going to bring in a head coach whose system he doesn’t really fit.”
Finally, here’s what the NFL on CBS analysts had to say on Peyton Manning.
Rich Gannon: “I think Peyton Manning would and will play for Gary Kubiak. (Manning) has some unfinished business. Gary Kubiak can tailor his system. We saw him do it in Houston with a number of different quarterbacks and last year in Baltimore. I think Peyton comes back and decides to play for Gary Kubiak.”
Steve Beuerlein: “It is a great hire for the Denver Broncos. That relationship (between John Elway and Gary Kubiak) is going to be solid as a rock. They are on the same page. John Elway wants that kind of offense that he won two Super Bowls with. The problem is the quarterback, Peyton Manning, is not a great fit for that system. It requires the quarterback to be an up-the-field thrower… Peyton Manning cannot get the ball down the field the way that Gary Kubiak is going to want to… I don’t see it being a great fit.”
“And I would not be surprised if Peyton decides to hang it up. Unless he really wants to come back and get after Brett Favre’s record and give it one more shot. But I think the window is already closing on Peyton as far as Super Bowl opportunities and I think he knows that as well.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital, eBay, Google News and CBS Interactive. You can read Banks’ feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and listen to him on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)