This is kind of what you’d expect him to say, but it still stands out when you hear it in his voice and see it spelled out in print. Peyton Manning wasn’t just happy to find out Sean Payton was taking the Denver Broncos head coaching job — he advocated for the former New Orleans Saints coach to win it.
Manning fielded questions from reporters at last week’s Manning Passing Academy, where he joked that he “might have known a little bit what was going on” given his connections with ownership groups around the league. The Hall of Fame quarterback won his first Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts and sealed a second championship with the Broncos, and his word still weighs a lot in both cities, even with changes in ownership and a new general manager in Denver.
Manning shared his experience in the middle of it all, which started when Payton joined Manning and his brothers for a golf trip last summer after stepping down as Saints head coach.
“I certainly was all in on Sean,” Manning said. “I could tell he wanted to get back in it. I could tell he was looking for a committed organization that gave him the great support that he got here in New Orleans from the Benson family. I think he definitely found that with the Broncos’ new ownership. They’re going to give him what he needs and what he wants.”
Manning added that Payton is a coach who knows exactly what he wants. He used examples like his preference at left guard (where the Broncos invested a four-year, $52 million contract in former Baltimore Ravens starter Ben Powers) and at tight end (where Payton traded with the Saints to bring in Adam Trautman, one of his former draft picks). As was the case in New Orleans, the decision-makers in Denver are making an effort to keep Payton happy. Manning’s lobbying might have helped a little, but it shouldn’t be a surprise that Payton wound up in Broncos country after all.
