The Tennessee Titans will be meeting with Peyton Manning on Wednesday, according to owner Bud Adams.
Adams told WSMV-TV the Titans' contingent will fly out of Nashville on Wednesday and spend the day with Manning, a meeting delayed apparently by trouble getting a co-pilot for his private plane. Adams told the TV station he thinks Manning really is interested in the Titans' offer, and he expects a quick decision from the four-time MVP.
Adams told WSMV-TV the Titans' contingent will fly out of Nashville on Wednesday and spend the day with Manning, a meeting delayed apparently by trouble getting a co-pilot for his private plane.
"I think he's ... wanting to sign up with somebody pretty quickly," Adams said by telephone from his Houston home.
Sources previously told ESPN that coach Mike Munchak and several assistants were expected to headline the Titans contingent.
Where the meeting will take place remains a secret, though a private plane with a Titans' emblem on the tail arrived in Nashville on Tuesday afternoon with a flight plan projecting the plane to arrive in Raleigh-Durham a couple hours later. The plane was towed behind a hangar with the flight plan scrapped for the night.
That left Munchak busy with other non-Manning business, including meeting with free-agent guard Steve Hutchinson.
One goal of signing Hutchinson would be to make Tennessee even more appealing to Manning, who is close to the guard from the time they've spent together at multiple Pro Bowls in Hawaii.
But Hutchinson was on the Titans' radar even before the Manning pursuit began, as they want to beef up the interior line with a veteran leader. Hutchinson is close to Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, as well, from their days together in Seattle.
The Titans were also preparing to make a major run at Houston Texans defensive end Mario Williams, a league source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen, but Adams has made it known he wants Manning and will do whatever it takes to sign the quarterback.
"I want Manning," Adams told The Tennessean on Sunday. "I'd love to see him in Titan blue after watching him so many years with the Colts. ... I want him. I am ready to do what it takes to get him aboard, and I think he'd be the guy to get us into the playoffs."
Manning met with Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin, offensive coordinator Mike Sherman and other staff members for roughly five or six hours Monday night in Indianapolis, sources told ESPN.
Manning certainly has plenty of connections to Tennessee, the state where he starred at the University of Tennessee, and where his name remains a popular choice for children. His wife is from Memphis, and Manning already knows the Titans' facility a bit, having practiced against Tennessee a few years ago when the Colts came to town for some joint practices.
Munchak also was a teammate of Archie Manning in 1982 and briefly in 1983 with the then-Houston Oilers. Munchak just hired Dennis Polian -- son of former Colts general manager Bill Polian -- as his assistant.
The biggest key is Adams, the 89-year-old billionaire who wants back in the playoffs. His Titans have been only twice since 2004 with both trips in 2007 and 2008 lasting only one game each. When he wants a quarterback, he gets him whether it was having his Titans draft Vince Young in 2006 or signing Warren Moon away from the CFL.
"I want Manning," Adams told The Tennessean. "I'd love to see him in Titan blue after watching him so many years with the Colts. ... I want him. I am ready to do what it takes to get him aboard, and I think he'd be the guy to get us into the playoffs."
The Titans already have Hasselbeck, signed to a three-year contract last July, and Jake Locker picked with the No. 8 overall selection in the 2011 draft. But Hasselbeck is due $5.5 million in salary this year after getting a chunk of his deal last season.
Manning, who already has met with the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals, has continued to rehab his shoulder and neck.
He is expected to resume his throwing regimen -- most likely at Duke University, where he threw last week -- while he analyses his free-agent choices, with no apparent deadline in place to make a decision, a source added to ESPN.
