Published October 19, 2026 03:25 PM
When the Colts last fired a head coach, they turned to former Colts center Jeff Saturday to be the head coach. Now that the Colts have fired G.M. Chris Ballard, the Colts could be turning to former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.
On the Monday edition of his daily radio and TV show, Dan Patrick linked the Colts and their Hall of Fame quarterback.
“The Colts’ first call will be/has been to Peyton Manning,” Patrick said. “The call will not only get names and suggestions but the call will explore whether or not Peyton would be interested in being a General Manager of the Colts as an entry point that would include ownership interest in the Colts.
“So now you have an opportunity to put Peyton back in Indy as a G.M. and part owner. And he gets to pick his quarterback. So now all of a sudden, the community is going to love this. The league would love this. Would Peyton love this?”
Mike Chappell of Fox59/CBS4 has since reported that the Colts have not yet reached out to Manning. As Chappel notes, that doesn’t mean they won’t.
The role of G.M. and part owner are distinct. By rules, Manning couldn’t be offered equity as part of the compensation his G.M. role. But he could separately be invited to buy a chunk of the team at a Tom Brady below-market sweetheart deal.
And the General Manager job would necessarily become Peyton’s professional focal point. He doesn’t do anything halfway, or half-assed. If he’d ever become a G.M., he’d put everything he had into being the best G.M. he could be.
That would likely mean no more ManningCast. It would possibly mean stepping away from Omaha Productions. It’s one thing to spread attention between projects that make money regardless of how much time is devoted to them by the principal in the company; when wins and losses are attached to the effort, a different type of competitive juice begins to flow.
Manning has resisted that temptation since retiring a decade ago. He seems to be fully aware of what he’d do if he allowed himself to re-enter an arena that hinges on the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.
So while it makes plenty of sense for the Colts to want him now, if Manning wanted to live that life he probably already would be.