Didn't see this posted anywhere. It's a yahoo article by Jason Cole titled - The Peyton Manning free-agent firestorm could end up burning some front-office officials http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=jc-cole_peyton_manning_free_agent_jets_dolphins_skins030712 Here are the interesting pieces that make me wonder if the team and GM they are talking about are the Dolphins and Jeff Ireland - Might not be Ireland, but if it is, it's going to get interesting.
True, but I also can't imagine any other owner being as excited about Peyton Manning given what we've already heard about Stephen Ross. It's also possible that the owner he was talking about was Ross and he got the 2nd quote from a different GM not named Jeff Ireland.
It's not Ireland. I can tell because there wasn't one reference to Peyton's whore mother and nary a puppy was kicked during the interview.
This has been my opinion all along. Like the other thread you made this is going to be a big test for Ireland. Can he land a big deal and is he smart enough to walk away from a big disaster. The fan base and even the owner is putting enourmous pressure on him to get the team a franchise level QB. If Peyton does well and he gets him then he looks like a clever GM who brokered a great deal and if Peyton busts Ireland looks like a fool. If we pass on all the QB prospects out there and they all fail Ireland comes out looking like a shrewd talent evaluator if any of them turn out to be good and he misses on them he looks stupid. This off-season could make or break Ireland's reputation as a GM. Even the size of the contracts that are signed are going to reflect on his ability to be a GM. The only thing I am looking for is that whichever way things unfold he has put us in a better postion to win more games then we were last year. If he makes good deals that improve the team and avoids the bad ones that would of hurt us then he had a sucessful off season.
One thing I worry about with Ireland is his arrogance. And this might all just be in my perception of the man, but I just have this sneaking suspicion he is extremely arrogant about the QB position. I think he fancies himself as being able to build a team that can win despite the lack of a franchise QB. Some comments he made in that rare off season interview where he focused on QBs like Brady and Romo who were late round picks or undrafted. "They're out there, we just have to find them." I've never thought he places the appropriate value on the QB position which is why he might not be willing to sign a guy like Manning, given the risk involved. If Ross forces Ireland's hand to sign Manning he shouldn't expect to be fired if Peyton doesn't work out. And if he talks Ross out of Manning and Manning excels with another team then quite frankly, he would deserve to be fired especially if his plan to address the QB position doesn't work out. I'm waiting for both Ross and Ireland to prove me wrong and land Peyton Manning. Whether it works out or not, I won't blame either.
This doesn't make any sense. Your boss tells you to go do something (sign Manning), you do exactly as told but it doesn't work out so your boss fires you? If Ireland was beating the drum to sign Manning than yes he is putting his head on the block, but if its coming from the owner than I don't follow the logic.