NFL football quarterback Peyton Manning, center, takes a tour with executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos John Elway and Broncos coach John Fox at the Broncos' training facility in Englewood, Colo., Friday, March 9, 2012. Four-time MVP Manning opened his free-agency tour of NFL suitors Friday. (AP Photo/The Denver Post, John Leyba)And with that, Peyton Manning remained the former Tennessee legend who will not be a Tennessee Titan for life.
Unless you live under a rock or have happened upon this column by accident, you know the former University of Tennessee All-America quarterback who became a four-time NFL MVP in 14 years with Indianapolis has picked the Denver Broncos as his new team.
It was the closest thing the NFL has experienced to the craziness that is college football recruiting, but this was a recruiting cycle on a steroid cycle. The Titans, who joined San Francisco as bridesmaids in the Manning sweepstakes, were aided in their pitch by almost everyone in the state, from the state Legislature to the MoonPie people to the fine folks at Krystal who pledged a sackful to Manning before every game if he came to Nashville.
(Side note: As someone who greatly loves the occasional Krystal, I'm not really sure how effective anyone would be in an NFL game after going through a half-dozen or so. Still, it was a generous offer.)
It appears the chance to work with Hall of Famer John Elway, the Broncos' vide president of football operations, appeared to be the ultimate bait that landed Manning. Plus, the Broncos look to be in position to give Manning complete offensive control -- which seems debatable in Nashville and doubtful in San Francisco.
And if you are the Broncos, there is no price that is too high for Manning -- whether he's healthy or not.
If healthy, Manning makes Denver a Super Bowl contender for the first time since Elway was taking snaps. The Broncos jumped from a 70-to-1 pick to win the NFL championship to a 10-to-1 bet when news started circulating that Manning told his agent to work out a deal with Denver.
Regardless, though, Manning allows the Broncos a way out of the Tim Tebow experiment. It was clear Elway and the Broncos brass were not sold that Tebow could be a longtime success in the NFL. If you get your team into the playoffs and win a playoff game and all the organization says about your status is that you deserve to open preseason camp as the starter, well, the writing on the wall is not in invisible ink.
While the Denver front office still doubted Tebow, the Broncos fans have been overwhelming pro-Tebow. And the only way to supplant the former Florida star and not cause a revolt among the Broncos Nation would be to bring in someone who undeniably is better. And in Manning, the Broncos landed someone who anyone this side of Mrs. Tebow would agree gives Denver a better chance to win.
So Manning to Denver makes sense from each side, and this was obviously a decision that he analyzed from all directions as intently as any presnap read or one of his trademark audibles. And there was a lot to think about.
The 49ers are the most ready to win a Super Bowl of the three finalists, so it wasn't strictly a football decision.
The Titans appeared to be the sentimental choice, but who's to say that may not have worked against Tennessee. Think about it this way: Is there anyway for Manning to enhance his approval rating in this state? Not really, but if he came to Nashville and struggled, it certainly could have harmed his legacy here.
Plus, with last year's first-round Jake Locker waiting in the wings, the Titans' situation really is not all that much different from the situation Manning left in Indy.
But give Bud Adams and the Titans credit for pulling out all the stops, including offering Manning a job for life if he signed with the Titans. That was genius -- it may be looked back on as the PR equivalent of inventing the TV remote control.
Manning already had a job for life, be it as a coach, executive or TV commentator. Do you think he would have any trouble finding a gig if he couldn't take another snap? Of course not, but Adams got that out there first and gets credit for being the one who put the chicken liver on his catfish hook first.
This will be the next step in high-profile free-agent negotiations, by the way. The no-trade clause of the 1990s will be the job for life for the 2010s.
It was brilliant -- it just wasn't enough to land Manning. Just like a sackful of Krystals.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6273.