Disaster at Dove Valley! What was Manning’s role in Elway’s house cleaning?
“But is John Elway’s house cleaning in reaction to Denver’s pathetic playoff performance versus the Colts or is it all about Peyton Manning?”
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Shock and awe in Denver as we learned yesterday that John Elway and John Fox reached a “mutual agreement” to part ways and that every other coach on the staff is “welcome to look elsewhere”. But is John Elway’s house cleaning in reaction to Denver’s pathetic playoff performance versus the Colts or is it all about Peyton Manning?
That’s the big question and it might be a couple of weeks before we know the answer.
For every fan that believes Manning was held back by Fox’s conservative game plan there’s another that believes the Broncos are held back by Manning’s ineffectiveness in his old age. Some folks seem to think that Manning was angered by Fox’s “one foot out the door” approach – Fox presumably leaked hints to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports that he could be available for other jobs if the Broncos lost to the Colts – and that Fox was fired at Manning’s behest. There are others who believe that the shakeup is Elway’s way of helping to usher Manning out the door.
It’s unlikely that Peyton Manning wants to – at age 38 – begin learning a whole new offensive system. Were Denver’s next HC be somebody like Gary Kubiac it would mean that Manning would have to hit the books pretty hard to have success in 2015 and beyond. If, however, the Broncos make the decision to retain Adam Gase and make him the HC then the handwriting would be on the wall that the Broncos are still Peyton Manning’s team and that Elway aims to continue building the Broncos in his image.
For the first time there seems to be at least a general consensus in Broncos Country that Peyton Manning cannot get it done anymore. This despite yesterday’s reports that the old man played the latter portion of the season on a torn (or strained or whatever) quad muscle. It remains a mystery, however, whether or not John Elway is concerned about Manning’s ability moving forward.
It also remains a mystery whether Manning has communicated to Elway his intentions. If Manning told Elway that he plans on coming back and Elways wants Manning to come back we’ll know it by the hire the Broncos make at coach. If Elway wants Manning to go quietly into the night we may know that, too, based on the coach Elway hires and the type of offense that coach favors. Peyton Manning has the least mobility of any active NFL quarterback. His style is to pass quickly from the pocket and not to run at all if he can help it. A coach like Gary Kubiac is looking for QBs who can roll out and throw outside of the pocket the way that Joe Flacco can.
If Kubiac comes to Denver Peyton Manning is likely gone.
If, however, the Broncos intend to see Manning play out his contract, Manning is likely to be directly involved in selecting the Broncos’ next HC. You can bet dollars to donuts that if Adam Gase is Denver’s next hire Manning will return for one – if not two – more seasons.
If Manning plays two more seasons in Denver then Brock Osweiler will probably leave as an unrestricted free agent after the 2015 season. That would leave the Broncos to re-determine who Manning’s successor may be. If Elway truly believes in Brock then now may be the time to politely encourage Manning to retire. A whole new coaching staff may be just the impetus Manning needs. Or it may be the opposite. Nobody outside Dove Valley knows the truth … yet.
