New York Giants: Peyton Manning could save the franchise

Former quarterback Peyton Manning could be the right man to turn the New York Giants around if ownership makes sweeping changes.

Is this wishful thinking thrown out there at a time when the New York Giants are as bad as the franchise has been in 16 years? Probably. Are there any indications, real or imagined, that former quarterback, current football legend and future Hall of Fame inductee Peyton Manning has any desire to work for the Giants? Not really.

There’s zero positive to say about the Giants following a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Rams that left not-so Big Blue at 1-7 and staring at a top-three draft pick that will likely only improve if players continue to quit on head coach Ben McAdoo as they did at MetLife Stadium on Nov. 5. Giants fans want to see changes, and they will likely get their wishes barring an unimaginable turnaround.

General manager Jerry Reese failed the club, fans and the coaching staff in multiple ways, and those two Super Bowl championships on his resume lose luster with every disappointing campaign. McAdoo guiding the Giants to an 11-5 record feels like it occurred a decade ago rather than in 2016. Blowing things up and starting over is not only reasonable. It appears inevitable.

What does the older brother of current New York quarterback Eli Manning have to do with any of this? Nothing, at least not yet. Those who follow the Cleveland Browns or have a working knowledge about the club are aware of rumors Peyton Manning could take control as club president/franchise czar in January if not sooner. Manning apparently/allegedly has a relationship with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam due to their links with the University of Tennessee, and the two-time Super Bowl champion could be Haslam’s final chance to save what is currently the worst organization in all of North American professional sports.

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Say, for the sake of argument, Giants leaders John Mara and Steve Tisch wanted to convince Peyton to spurn the Browns for greener pastures. That’d be an easy case to make. There’s no evidence Haslam has any idea what he is doing as a franchise owner, and his track record falls somewhere between “horrible” and “so embarrassing 31 front offices laugh at the Browns on a weekly basis.” There’s no worse entity in sports than the one that calls FirstEnergy Stadium home.

The Giants are a mess, but the team is still averaging one championship per decade since 1986, and it has a rich and deep history that goes beyond a disastrous 2017 season. New York’s roster doesn’t require a complete overhaul on either side of the football. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is a once-in-a-generation talent when fully healthy, and the defense features several young could-be stars who may require some swift kicks on their backsides to catapult them back into form.

Of course, one cannot discuss Peyton speaking with the Giants without mentioning Eli. The other two-time Super Bowl champion in the family turns 37 years old in January, and age is clearly catching up with him. While the younger Manning brother hasn’t played well this season, he’s nowhere near high on the list of the team’s woes this fall. In short, he deserves better from the franchise that’s started him since the middle of the 2004 campaign.

One of the worst kept secrets in the NFL throughout Peyton’s playing career was that he wasn’t keen on competing with Eli, outside of the occasional regular season contest, unless it meant doing so on Super Bowl Sunday. It’s one reason he signed with the Denver Broncos rather than with an NFC side after his tenure with the Indianapolis Colts ended. Becoming the boss of the New York front office could provide Peyton with an opportunity to help Eli pursue one last title over the next two seasons before the duo chooses Eli’s future successor, whether that be Davis Webb or a QB the Giants haven’t yet drafted.

Let’s also not pretend, for a second, the Manning brothers wouldn’t love being kings of the New York region, and that the NFL wouldn’t drool over the idea of the duo saving the Giants and reigning over the country’s top sports market. Peyton is the biggest media darling in NFL history, and there really isn’t a close second. Eli, by all accounts, enjoys the area. The more you think about it, the more Peyton becoming what John Elway is for the Denver Broncos makes sense.

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Again, this is little more than spit-balling as a cloud of uncertainty hovers over the Giants. Comparing the Browns to the Giants is like asking one to choose between eating a hot dog from the corner of E. 9th and Prospect in downtown Cleveland or a meal from Peter Luger. If Peyton Manning is seriously considering working for Haslam, the Giants, and maybe even Eli, need to give him a call.

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