‘You’ll never guess what Peyton did’ — Peyton Manning’s former coach was stunned by what happened years after they worked together
There is no one in NFL history quite like Tennessee Vols legend and Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.
Tennessee Vols legend and Hall of Famer Peyton Manning was always an elite competitor during his football career.
But Peyton softened in some areas over the years — specifically when it came to having kids around practice.
Tony Dungy, who was Peyton’s head coach with the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008, told a story this week about the legendary quarterback not wanting to continue the team’s “Family Saturday” at practices on Saturdays because it made it difficult to prepare for that week’s game.
Dungy explained that years later, after Peyton became a father of two and while playing with the Broncos, that the former Tennessee star requested that Denver have a day where kids come to practice.
“I started out with the Steelers, and with Chuck Noll, family was very important,” said Dungy. “We always had what we called family Saturday. We’d have a short practice, bring your kids, they could come in the locker room, they could go on the field, and that’s the way we did it.
“So when I went to Tampa, I did that. It took the players a little while to adjust. I went to Indy and said, ‘This is how we’re going to do it.’ Peyton, being a perfectionist, he’d always have like 15 plays he wanted to run again on Saturday morning to make sure we got them right. And we got kids out there, and he’s saying, ‘We don’t have the concentration level we need.’ So every five weeks, he’d come talk to me: ‘Can we just leave the kids in the locker room? Do we need them out there?’ I’d say, ‘Trust me. We’ll be okay.’ Well then, fast-forward, he goes to Denver and I’m sent out there to do a piece on him (for Sunday Night Football). We’ve got him on opening night. So I get there and Brandon Stokley, who was with us in Indy, comes up to me and says, ‘You’ll never guess what Peyton did. He went to Coach Fox and said we’ve got to put in family Saturdays — the kids need to know where their dads are.’”
It was certainly a full circle moment for Peyton and Dungy.
