The Indianapolis Colts have opened a new front in their search for a general manager, and according to Dan Patrick, the first name on the phone list is a familiar one.
On Monday morning, after the Colts moved on from Chris Ballard, Patrick said on The Dan Patrick Show that Indianapolis is looking at the same kind of blueprint Atlanta used with Matt Ryan. In Patrick’s telling, the Colts want to start with Peyton Manning, with the conversation potentially ranging from recommendations to a bigger role in the organization.
“The Colts' first call will be 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 for the Colts as the entry point that would include ownership interest in the Colts."
That kind of move would fit a franchise that has never been shy about leaning into legacy. Indianapolis already hired Jeff Saturday as interim head coach in 2022 and later brought Philip Rivers out of retirement last season when Daniel Jones went down.
The timing matters, too. This is Indianapolis’ first major decision since Jim Irsay’s passing, and Carlie Irsay-Gordon is the one now responsible for getting it right. That makes the Falcons’ recent approach an obvious reference point.
Atlanta created a new role for Ryan in January and put him in as president of football, despite his lack of executive experience. The idea was to use him as a bridge between ownership and the front office, and the move has worked well enough that it’s already drawing attention around the league.
The question now is whether the Colts would try to hand Manning the same sort of job outright or use him more like Atlanta has used Ryan. One possibility is bringing Manning in to help steer the search for a new general manager, while also weighing candidates for quarterback and head coach.
There’s still reason to wonder whether Manning would actually take that path. ESPN reportedly pays him and his brother well for the ManningCast on Monday nights, and stepping into a front-office job could carry risks that might not be worth it for him.
Even the ownership angle could be tempting, but a role closer to Ryan’s setup in Atlanta appears to make more sense. Manning could guide the process without being buried in the day-to-day demands of the general manager job.
The broader lesson is simple: if Indianapolis wants to copy the Falcons’ model, the smarter play would be to bring Manning or even Stanford GM Andrew Luck into a support role, not hand them the GM title itself.
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