Even though he retired from the NFL in March, Peyton Manning isn’t staying away from professional football. Many expect the two-time Super Bowl champion to be involved with the game as a TV analyst, but there have been reports that Manning won’t be going to the booth or studio for the upcoming season.
In the meantime, maybe he’s going to help out with a little bit of coaching.
According to the Miami Herald‘s Barry Jackson, the retired quarterback visited the Miami Dolphins training facility to visit new Dolphins head coach Adam Gase. Prior to taking the job in Miami, Gase was Manning’s offensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos. In addition to meeting with his former coach, Manning spent some time with Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill and allowed the 27-year-old to pick his brain.
“It was really cool,” Tannehill told the Miami Herald. “A guy that had his career, the living legend he is, coming off a Super Bowl winning season — it was really cool just to be able to sit and pick his brain about things he’s done in this offense and football things in general: snap counts, things you like, the way you want guys to run routes, little details about the game. We really just got to talk the game, which is something we both love.”
Tannehill told Jackson that he and Manning primarily talked about Gase’s offense, which Manning ran for two seasons in Denver. The fourth-year veteran said that his conversations with Manning allowed him to have a better understanding of the playbook prior to offseason meetings with the coaches. The Dolphins QB said he aspires to be like Manning and hoped he comes around to visit more often.
Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game and it’s not like he makes himself widely available for anyone to break down an offense. Being able to use Gase’s relationship with his former quarterback to give advice to Tannehill is a huge bonus for the Dolphins. Studying the playbook with Manning, even if it’s only a one-time deal, is quite an opportunity for a signal-caller that still has some untapped potential. But will Manning end up consulting for Gase throughout the upcoming season?
