Report: Titans, Browns want Peyton Manning in front office

If Peyton Manning decides to hang it up after the 2015 season, both the Titans and Browns would have interest in him moving into a role their front office

Great players don’t often make great coaches, but they have been known to find success in the front office. For example, John Elway is a hall-of-fame quarterback who won two Super Bowls for the Denver Broncos. Sporting a suit and tie, he helped Denver reach a Super Bowl as general manager and vice president of football operations.

His biggest coup while running the football program in Denver was signing quarterback Peyton Manning, despite there being several other potential suitors. Now the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns reportedly want to see if the man Elway signed as quarterback could make a similar transition from field to front office.

Both teams would like to bring Manning in, should he decide to give up his playing career after the 2015 season, per Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.

"With the Browns and Titans already preparing for major changes this offseason, both organizations have strong interest in adding Peyton Manning to the fold should he opt to retire this offseason, sources said."

A retirement after this season wouldn’t seem shocking for Manning, who is 39 years old and having his worst season ever as a pro. Despite Denver sitting in first place in the AFC West at 7-2, Manning has only nine touchdown passes and 17 interceptions. He has completed less than 60 percent of his passes for the first time since his rookie season, 1998, and owns a career low 67.6 passer rating.

Manning has always been considered one of the smartest players in the league, so it would make sense that teams would want to have him overseeing their football operations after his playing career.

Peyton became a beloved sports figure in Tennessee during his playing career with the Tennessee Volunteers. Returning to the state that holds him in such a high regard would make sense, and the team is about to go under serious changes as they have a president with an expiring contract and feature an interim head coach.

In Cleveland, the team needs some stability as they have cycled through coaches, general managers and team presidents at an alarming rate. Manning and Browns’ owner Jimmy Haslam have a relationship, through connections to the state of Tennessee oddly enough. Haslam has made it known that an ownership/management role could be there for Peyton should he choose that route.