The Indianapolis Colts need a new general manager.
They fired long-time GM Chris Ballard after a Week 6 loss to the previously winless Tennessee Titans, and it created an opening.
One name that was floated almost immediately as a candidate to fill the job: Peyton Manning.
Manning, of course, was a legendary QB for the Colts who is now working a variety of roles in media and commercials.
Turns out, though, that the Colts may need to instead look in a different direction.
Peyton Manning Makes GM Decision
Manning is not going to become the Colts’ general manager, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Sunday morning.
Schefter writes. “Peyton Manning has many jobs — Omaha Productions, the ManningCast, commercial pitchman — but he is not expected to add Indianapolis Colts general manager to his list of titles and responsibilities, league sources told ESPN.”
The report goes on to state that the Colts haven’t tried to convince Manning otherwise, either.
“The Colts have not approached Manning about their vacant GM job, nor would the Hall of Fame quarterback be expected to be interested in the position, according to sources,” Schefter writes. “Manning has not trained nor aspired to become a GM in the NFL, not with all that he has going on in his life.”
The former Colts and Broncos quarterback has a life that wouldn’t merge well with being a GM.
“Manning has created a post-football, off-the-field career as successful as the one he he had on the gridiron,” Schefter writes. “He has two children in high school, ‘Monday Night Football’ obligations, and commercial shoots scattered across his calendar. The timing to become an NFL general manager, which requires day-to-day attention, would not be right, according to sources.”
Who Will Colts GM Be?
Schefter doesn’t go on to name any names who could be in the running, and it’s pretty early in the process to know for sure where the Colts will go here.
What’s clear is that whoever gets the gig next will have to solve the revolving door at quarterback.
It wasn’t Ballard’s fault that Andrew Luck retired, but it greatly hindered most of Ballard’s tenure.
“After Luck retired unexpectedly in 2019, the Colts have remained on a quarterback carousel that Ballard never escaped,” Schefter writes. “Indianapolis has had 14 different starting quarterbacks under Ballard, tied with the New York Jets and Denver Broncos for the third-most in that span, according to ESPN Research.”
The Colts made the playoffs just twice under Ballard and won a single game during the postseason.
Colts’ Peyton Manning Makes Decision After GM Chris Ballard Firing