Three years into his tenure with the Broncos, it's still hard to think of Peyton Manning not being associated with the Colts.
Just imagine how strange it will be if he retires from the field and resumes his NFL career as an executive in Cleveland.
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That is a possibility for the Broncos' 39-year-old quarterback, according to NFL.com's Albert Breer.
The Browns are a leading candidate for his services, along with the University of Tennessee. The latter at least would make more sense for the former Volunteers quarterback.
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"Most believe Peyton Manning will hang 'em up after this season," Breer reported. "Well, there's also a widely held assumption in NFL circles that -- with all the turnover expected to come across the league in January -- Manning could well re-emerge as a leading executive in 2016. The most bandied about landing spots are Cleveland (because of Manning's relationship with Browns owner/University of Tennessee booster Jimmy Haslam) and Tennessee (because of Manning's connections to the university, and his wife's presence as part owner of the Memphis Grizzlies), with Indianapolis (his longtime home) and New Orleans (his native soil) not to be completely discounted."
The report compared Manning's situation to that of arguably the most successful quarterback-to-executive transition in the NFL -- the Broncos and executive vice president John Elway.
Elway's competitive nature as a player translated well in his role as an executive.
"I think the biggest thing that needed to be fixed was football leadership," Broncos president Joe Ellis told Breer in 2011. "We had a void in that area. We needed someone who had the right competitive fire, who could draw respect, and come in and oversee all of football for Pat Bowlen."
By the time Elway joined the Broncos, however, he already had front-office experience, having run Denver's Arena League Football team and having served as a consultant to Bowlen for five years. He also had a stint running a successful car dealership business.
If Manning can lead the Broncos (7-1) to a Super Bowl win this season, the ring should by him some time to grow as an executive -- depending on how much decision-making he is given early on.
But it would be awfully weird watching Manning perform in the brown and orange colors of Cleveland.
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