Peyton Manning finally explains what ‘Omaha’ meant

Peyton Manning had a favorite word to trigger action at the line of scrimmage, and he has finally explained what it meant.

Peyton Manning was something of a pioneer for deciphering defenses, and adjusting things late in the play clock to find a suitable option. As his physical skills deteriorated, Manning’s mental edge became even more important.

During his later years with the Denver Broncos, Manning used ‘Omaha’ to trigger an audible, or so it appeared. He was predictably coy about its meaning while he was still playing, but at the Adobe Summit in March he explained what the word meant.

"“Omaha was just a indicator word,” Manning said to the crowd. “It was a trigger word that meant we had changed the play, there was low time on the clock, and that ball needed to be snapped right now to kind of let my offensive lineman know that ‘Hey, we’d gone to Plan B, there’s low time on the clock.’ It’s a rhythmic three-syllable word, ‘O-ma-ha, set hut.’”"

As could be expected, Manning acknowledged how he has become a celebrity in Omaha, Nebraska.

"I’m a big deal in Omaha, Nebraska, now. I went there a couple of years ago, I got a key to the city.”"

"“I always got Omaha if I need a place to live,”"

When Manning announced his retirement at the Broncos’ facility a little over a year ago, he had the perfect sign-off.

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So Manning’s use of Omaha seemed to be about syllable count, and being easy to remember while having a certain rhythm to it. As an offensive coordinator on the field Manning had serious command of things, and his teammates had to be able to keep pace.