Peyton Manning Open To Coaching At Tennessee?

There are a plethora of Tennessee fans that have long fantasized about the thought of Peyton Manning coaching on Rocky Top when his NFL career is finished.

The majority of folks, however, are in agreement that Peyton just isn’t the coaching type.

Well apparently that’s not exactly the case.

Manning told Dan Patrick that while he’d never want to be a head coach, he would be open to coaching quarterbacks at Tennessee once his career is over.

It’s tough to know how serious Manning is about possibly coaching. He’s a tremendous interviewee and his comments could be a light hearted.

But then again, there are few out there that love football and the intimate details of the game like Manning.

While some would probably argue that Manning would be better suited in a television role (the guy loves the camera), I could easily see where he’d prefer to be on the sidelines at Neyland, reliving the incredible gameday atmospheres of the SEC.

I doubt Tennessee, or anyone, would hire Manning straight off the street as a quarterbacks coach though.

Manning would likely need to serve in a intern type role at first, before being handed a permanent job on the staff.

But, if Manning is serious about wanting to coach, there are scenarios where it could happen for him at Tennessee.

A lot of fans aren’t happy with the job that Don Mahoney has done with the offensive line. If he ever exits Tennessee, it’s very likely that offensive coordinator Mike DeBord would go from the quarterbacks coach back to coaching the offensive line.

Which means, of course, that Tennessee would have the quarterbacks coach job open. And it would be about the time that Manning is done in the NFL (this is probably Peyton’s last season).

So don’t give up on the dream of Peyton back at Tennessee yet, Vol fans.

Anything is possible and at least Manning is leaving the door open for a possible return to Knoxville.

Next: Five Bold Predictions For The Vols In 2015