John Fox Defends Peyton Manning, Says Jim Irsay Should Be Grateful For Super Bowl Ring

Is there a rift growing between Jim Irsay and Peyton Manning? The owner of the Indianapolis Colts recently said that he was frustrated with the fact that he only won one Super Bowl with Manning.

Irsay said that Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and even little brother Eli Manning had won multiple Super Bowls while Peyton has only one championship ring.

Irsay said: “(Tom) Brady never had consistent numbers, but he has three of these [Super Bowl victories]… Pittsburgh had two, the Giants had two, Baltimore had two and we had one. That leaves you frustrated… You make the playoffs 11 times, and you’re out in the first round seven out of 11 times.”

Irsay is right. Peyton Manning did only win one Super Bowl championship. Of course, that understates Peyton’s impact in Indianapolis. Manning turned the struggling Colts into Super Bowl contenders. He brought them to the playoffs 11 times in 13 seasons and many people consider the new Lucas Oil Stadium the “house that Peyton built.”

Broncos coach John Fox defended Peyton today saying that Irsay should be thankful that he had Manning on his side for 13 years.

Fox said: “Peyton would never say anything… He’s too classy to do that. They (Irsay) sounded a little ungrateful and unappreciative to me. For a guy who has set a standard, won a Super Bowl, won four MVP awards, be thankful of that one Super Bowl ring, because a lot of people don’t have one.”

Peyton and Irsay parted ways on pretty good terms. No one really blamed the Colts for getting rid of Manning. The QB was heading battling with injuries and the Colts wanted to get a quarterback who could stay with them for the next ten years. Peyton, on the other hand, wanted to find a team that could immediately contend for the Super Bowl.

Peyton even told Irsay that he would be crazy if he didn’t draft Andrew Luck.

Irsay said: “I think it’s perfect… What’s happened is what Peyton and I hoped would happen. The desire was for him to get well and get to a team that has a chance to win another Super Bowl before his career ended. And our desire was to be able to transition to Andrew. To be so good so soon is stunning.”

So it’s a little strange to hear Irsay bad mouth his former franchise player. Especially considering the fact that the Colts are planning on honoring Peyton Manning before they face the Broncos this weekend.