Following the Denver Broncos Super 50 victory, former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said that he had received advice from his old coach Tony Dungy and didn’t want to make an “emotional decision” in the heat of the moment on his potential retirement:
"“Well Jim (Nantz), I got some good advice from Tony Dungy, who’s going into the Hall of Fame and my old coach and he said, ‘Don’t make an emotional decision’,” said Manning during postgame festivities. “This has been a very emotional week and emotional night.”“I got a couple of priorities in order. I want to go kiss my wife, kiss my kids, I want to go celebrate with my family and teammates, and I’m going to drink a lot of beer tonight, Jim. Budweiser,” added Manning. “Von Miller’s buying, and those are my priorities at this point.” “I’ll take some time to reflect on the other, but I’m going to say a prayer and a thank you to the man upstairs for this opportunity for sure as well,” concluded Manning."
Dungy was recently voted into the NFL’s Hall of Fame Class of 2016 on Saturday evening and was attending Super Bowl 50–taking part in the game’s festivities. Not to mention, having coached the Colts from 2002-08, he was cheering his former superstar quarterback on along with some other familiar faces:
A perfect weekend for us. A Colts reunion and seeing Peyton win another ring! pic.twitter.com/5UTdoFfE0y
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) February 8, 2016
So so what exactly did Dungy say:
"“I called him,” said Dungy via MMQB’s Peter King, “and I said, ‘I don’t know what you’re going to do, but if you haven’t decided yet, don’t decide now. Don’t decide at halftime of the last game, or five minutes after the last game. Don’t do it in the moment.’ I think Dick Vermeil made that decision in the moment, and he regretted it. I said, ‘Let the adrenalin wear off and then decide.’”"
Of course, Manning played 14 magical seasons for the Colts prior to joining the Broncos and is unquestionably the greatest Indianapolis Colt of all-time.
While Denver will more than likely be Manning’s last career stop–a sabbatical for another Super Bowl championship, the Indianapolis Colts will always be his true home.
The now 2x Super Bowl Champion has recently been told by Colts owner Jim Irsay that if he decides to retire, that the latter would “love to have him retire” as a member of the Indianapolis Colts. It would presumably be on a one-day contract accompanied by a farewell team press conference.
For now, Manning doesn’t have to worry about making such a significant career decision, as he’s currently celebrating with his family, friends, and teammates after winning the Lombardi Trophy for a second time.
While apparently drinking a lot of Budweiser… Sorry, Von Miller.
