Jim Irsay: Peyton Manning Comments Misinterpreted, Taken Out Of Context
Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay didn’t enjoy the taste of sticking his foot in his mouth talking about former QB and Superbowl MVP Peyton Manning.
As reported by The Inquisitr, the Denver Broncos’ and Manning’s current head coach, John Fox, fired back when Irsay had lamented only owning one championship ring after Peyton Manning’s tenure in Indy.
“You make the playoffs 11 times, and you’re out in the first round seven out of 11 times,” Irsay told USA Today of Manning’s stint in a Colts jersey.
“Peyton would never say anything,” Fox said of Manning on Sirius radio. “He’s too classy to do that. They (Irsay) sounded a little ungrateful and unappreciative to me.”
Tony Dungy, who coached Peyton Manning and the Colts to victory at Super Bowl XLI, also weighed in.
“Jim is making this personal,” Dungy said in a text message to ESPN. “I’m surprised.”
Irsay took to Twitter to defends himself, claiming his remarks on Peyton Manning were being taken out of context.
My comments meant if we gave Peyton better SP Teams n Def,we would have won more than 1 Sup/Bowl,instead of asking Peyton 2do too much
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 16, 2013
Take Irsay at face value. After all, he is planning Peyton Manning Day when Denver visits Indy this weekend. And he credited Manning with advising him to draft current Colts QB Andrew Luck. Irsay also said this of Manning in the original piece:
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.
What do you think of Irsay’s comments about Peyton Manning? How will Peyton Manning fare against the Colts defense? Did the Colts make a mistake in releasing Peyton Manning?
