NASHVILLE, TENN. (AP) - The Tennessee Titans have made their pitch to Peyton Manning and the quarterback left the team’s headquarters Wednesday night after spending 6 1/2 hours inside.
No decision was announced, but the next move appears to be up to the four-time NFL MVP.
Manning walked out of the building with coach Mike Munchak at 10:05 p.m. EDT and waved to about 50 fans who had gathered along the fence hoping for a glimpse of the quarterback. They yelled out his name, and he waved at them before getting into Munchak’s SUV and driving away through a back gate.
Titans spokesman Robbie Bohren declined to comment on the meeting after Manning departed.
It was unclear if Manning flew back to North Carolina Wednesday night, but if the big smile Munchak had on his face as he and Manning were leaving was any indication, things went well.
The Titans apparently did just what owner Bud Adams said they would: The 89-year old Adams told WSMV-TV on Tuesday team executives would spend the day with Manning. In all they spent about eight hours with him on Wednesday.
Munchak, general manager Ruston Webster and chief operating officer Mike Reinfeldt landed arrived in North Carolina just before 1:30 p.m. EDT to pick Manning up. Manning arrived at the airport riding in the backseat of black Escalade about 20 minutes later, boarded the plane and the group headed back to Tennessee.
Manning had been in Raleigh-Durham working out several times at Duke recently. Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe was his offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee.
Adams has said he will do whatever it takes to sign Manning in his chase for a championship. He sees the quarterback as the missing piece. The owner remained in Houston Tuesday, which why Reinfeldt joined Webster and Munchak for this trip.
Adams promoted Reinfeldt from general manager in January to senior executive vice president and COO to act as his point man with the team in Tennessee while he lives 650 miles away.
The Titans already have veteran Matt Hasselbeck with two years left on a deal signed last July, and drafted Jake Locker with the eighth pick overall in the 2011 draft.
The quarterback’s suitors include Denver, Arizona and Miami. He reportedly visited with the Dolphins Monday night in Indianapolis.
Cutcliffe declined to answer any questions about Manning Wednesday following the Blue Devils spring practice. However, when asked how his players were handling the distraction with the new faces around, the coach laughed and said, “you found a way, didn’t you” to get in a question about Manning.
He said having Manning at the team’s facilities has not been a problem.
“That’s always, for them (the Duke players), encouraging and fun. That’s the honest truth,” Cutcliffe said of Manning working out at Duke’s facilities. “But they’ve done a great job of letting anybody that’s in here work and do what they’ve got to do, and they work around them.
“I think it’s always good to have examples and see the kind of work ethic it takes to succeed in football.”
___
AP Sports Writer Joedy McCreary in Durham, N.C., contributed to this report.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.