John Elway will need to work some magic if Broncos are going to land Peyton Manning
If Peyton Manning played quarterback for the Broncos, he would have the pleasure of working for John Elway, a boss who understands what it means to be an NFL legend.
But here's the deal: In Tennessee, Peyton Manning already is John Elway.
How do you beat that?
If Denver wants to sign Manning as the most ballyhooed free agent in league history, the Broncos need to close this deal with the artistry that made Elway famous in the fourth quarter.
Somebody had better hand Broncos owner Pat Bowlen a sledgehammer. He might have to shatter the piggy bank on a 35-year-old quarterback with a Super Bowl ring and a bum neck.
Manning took a trip down memory lane Wednesday, when he hopped on a private jet with Tennessee coach Mike Munchak and Titans officials to tour the team facilities and talk football in Nashville.
Game on.
No disrespect to Miami or Arizona, but here's thinking Tennessee is the first known rival that Elway should really fear in the recruitment of Manning.
The Titans have turned their free-agent strategy upside down at the behest of owner Bud Adams, who would change the name of Music City to Manning City if that's what it takes.
Adams, whose billion-dollar fortune was made in petroleum and whose football roots go back to the AFL's birth, is 89 years old. Manning will turn 36 later this month. This owner and this quarterback have maybe three good years together to win a Super Bowl, if they're lucky. The clock ticks loudly for both Manning and Adams with real desperation for the task at hand.
After trampling on Tebowmania to chase Manning, the Broncos can't turn back now. Count on them making a hard, final push. Denver has let it be known that money won't be an issue for franchise owner Pat Bowlen, a bold pursuit for a highly decorated quarterback who has added more than a few red marks on his medical chart.
With Manning, it's hard to envision how this decision will come down to money alone. He loves football too much. If Manning wants to own a piece of an NFL team after he retires, there is probably more opportunity in Nashville than Denver.
The Broncos, however, had better hope the courtship doesn't become an affair of the heart.
Ashley Manning, who graduated from the University of Virginia with a finance degree, is wife of the quarterback, mother of his children. She grew up in Tennessee. If you do not think that will be a factor as big as any offensive lineman in the decision by the Manning family, you have not been married.
Frank Tripucka, a Broncos quarterback who is as much a part of the team's tradition as those gosh-awful vertically striped socks, graciously said the team can take his orange No. 18 out of retirement. Tripucka would be honored to see Manning wear the same number in Colorado that he made famous as a four-time league MVP with Indianapolis.
Broncomania, however, has nothing on Big Orange Madness. From Knoxville to Memphis, Manning is now and forever known as No. 16, which is what he wore as quarterback for the Big Orange of Tennessee during the 1990s. Folks are still crazy for him after all these years. To this day, you can enter houses in the state where a mom will have more photos of Peyton than her own children.
After watching the Broncos' front office diligently work the NFL draft, picking up valuable pieces such as linebacker Von Miller and offensive tackle Orlando Franklin a year ago, it's startling to see Elway make such a big play in free agency, where for every Reggie White, there seem to have been five busts named Larry Brown, Andre Rison, Dale Carter, Emmitt Smith and Jeff Garcia. The annals of free- agent history are littered with stupid money. Give Denver huge props, however, for not being satisfied with an 8-8 record that won a weak AFC West.
When the Broncos' main competition for the services of Manning were the Cardinals and Dolphins, the smugness practically leaked from the walls at Dove Valley, where team officials acted extremely confident they were the front-runners in the Peyton Across America Tour.
Oh, Denver is still very much in play for Manning's services.
But now, the end game is going to require a little fourth-quarter magic from Elway.
Or a whole lot of forgiveness from Tim Tebow.
This article was written by Mark Kiszla and appeared in the Denver Post.
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