The Cleveland Browns are 0-9 for the second straight season and are 1-24 under Hue Jackson. They have struggled mightily since 1999 but have been more inept than ever since Jimmy Haslam took over the reins of the team. Haslam’s latest attempt to construct a winning football team happened two offseasons ago when he promoted Sashi Brown from the other side of the building, though that hasn’t worked out throughout 26 games. For his latest trick, Haslam will reach into his bag of tricks and look to produce a magic rabbit.
That magic trick that Haslam will look to pull off is a signing of Peyton Manning to the front office. Manning last played football in 2016 and rode off into the sunset with a Super Bowl 50 victory over the Carolina Panthers. Since then, Manning has appeared in numerous State Farm and Papa John’s commercials, showing off his humorous side off the gridiron. The former Colts and Broncos quarterback has even been a part of the panel in Comedy Central’s “The Roast Of Rob Lowe”. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that he would take a football job soon, but he has already had enough success outside of the game that a return isn’t necessary.
There have been numerous reports on the Manning-to-Browns story, including the differing tweets below.
#Browns owner Jimmy Haslam’s interest in hiring Peyton Manning is ‘very strong and sincere,’ according to report https://t.co/9IPbemvfVV
— Marla Ridenour (@MRidenourABJ) November 19, 2017
Clearly there is a strong connection between the Haslams and Peyton Manning. But I'm told there has been no discussion about a job for him with #Browns
— Tom Withers (@twithersAP) November 19, 2017
Whatever report you decide to believe is entirely up to your interpretation. But the background is there between Jimmy Haslam and Peyton Manning, as the Associated Press’ Tom Withers’ tweet puts above. Both have roots to the state of Tennessee and sometimes little things in common like that can bring people together.
If Manning views the job as something he can do to not only help the Browns win but also cement his legacy in numerous facets of the game, the job will be his this offseason. What does that mean for Sashi Brown and Paul DePodesta if the Manning hire does happen? Only time will tell.
Chase Bachman
November 20, 2017 at 11:17 am
Peyton Manning is Nationwide commercials, not State Farm.