NASHVILLE – Retiring U.S. Sen. Bob Corker is playing down speculation that former NFL and University of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning might be drawn into running in 2020 to replace a fellow Tennessee Republican, Sen. Lamar Alexander.
“I think Peyton’s liking coaching Little League football,” Corker told the entertainment and celebrity website TMZ in a brief hallway interview outside his Senate office this week. ” … I doubt that’s going to be a topic of discussion based on last round.”
After a TMZ cameraman persisted and asked Corker “no chance?” the senator, a Manning friend, replied “no,” according to a video posted on TMZ’s website.
Similar speculation about a Manning career in politics popped up last year after Corker, a former Chattanooga mayor, announced he would not seek re-election in 2018.
Manning later told a sports radio station he was giving “zero consideration” to running for Corker’s seat.