Indianapolis Colts: Is Peyton Manning Unhappy with the Colts?

Among the maelstrom of uncertainty swirling around the Indianapolis Colts right now following their disastrous 2-14 season, which included the firing of general manager Bill Polian, the dismissal of head coach Jim Caldwell and a search for Caldwell's replacement that ignited a firestorm over the weekend when replay assistant and former Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel was mentioned as a potential candidate, one cloud still swirls that may be the darkest and most foreboding of them all.

The future of quarterback Peyton Manning with the team.

Manning, who (just in case you've been on Neptune for the past six months) missed the entire 2011 campaign after a pair of neck surgeries, did an extensive interview with the Indianapolis Star Monday night, during which he touched on any number of subjects, including his health, the possibility of his retirement and the unsettled state of the Colts right now.

Regarding his rehab Manning said:

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You've been around me: You know I don't like to say something like, 'There’s no way I can play Sunday,' then come out and play Sunday and everybody in the media is writing 'I can’t believe he’s playing,' I'm not into the drama. And I'm not into saying, 'Well, this is it, I sure have enjoyed it.' I'm not into saying goodbye. All I know is I'm still under contract to the Colts. I'm still the quarterback of the Colts. That's why I'm in the building every day trying to get healthy.

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Manning then went on to describe the dismissal of strength and conditioning coach Jon Torine, with whom Manning had been working out, as "tough" and "very emotional," and sounded none too pleased about the current climate at Colts headquarters.

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I'm not in a very good place for healing, let's say that. It's not a real good environment down there right now, to say the least. Everybody's walking around on eggshells. I don't recognize our building right now. There's such complete and total change.

I mean, it's 20 degrees, it's snowing, the building is absolutely empty except when you see coaches cleaning out their offices. I guess it's the reality of the football world, just not something I've had to deal with very often. But I'm in there every day, so I have to sit there and see it. Everybody's being evaluated and I'm no different. It's not the best environment.

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This is speculation on my part, and I won't paint it as anything but that, but my guess is that over the past decade-plus, not many decisions were made in Indianapolis without some input from Peyton Manning.

But with Manning's football future in doubt and a new general manager in place in Ryan Grigson, who Manning has a "minimal" relationship with, it's possible that Jim Irsay and Grigson aren't as inclined to ask their star quarterback's opinion on matters right now, and that has rankled Peyton Manning a bit.

Will Manning try force his way out of Indy? Almost certainly not, and he as much as said so in the article, although he also admitted that in the end the choice isn't his to make.

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I don't want to get into some kind of fan campaign with the owner, but I think it's well documented that I want to play in the same place my whole career. It's been a privilege to play here. I love the fans, the city, the transformation of the fans, how our place has become the toughest stadium to play in, the fact our fans wear more jerseys to games than anybody else. It's been fun to be a part of that.

But I understand how it works. I understand tough decisions have to be made. There's personal and there's business and that's where we've got to separate the two. I've seen other guys leave places and it was personal. I've invested too much into this city for that to happen. We live here, we've given lots of time and money to the community and our church, and that's never going to change Nothing changes that.

Whatever happens, happens. I can't give you a prediction because Jim (Irsay) and I will sit down at some point and he'll get a feel for where I am and I’ll get a sense of what direction he wants to go. Right now, I have no idea.

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It's very possible that Irsay isn't any more sure than Manning which direction he wants to go right now, but with a whopping $28 million roster bonus for the future Hall of Famer coming due on March 8, some tough decisions are going to be made in the very near future that could impact not only the Indianapolis Colts, but all of the National Football League for seasons to come.

Put down the phone, Daniel Snyder. It's not time...yet.