Jets Rumors: Peyton Manning Targeted by NY for Front-Office Position

The New York Jets are reportedly targeting legendary NFL quarterback Peyton Manning to fill a key front-office role within the organization.

On Friday, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported "rumors are flying within league circles" that the Jets are going to make a run at Manning. Current Jets head coach Adam Gase served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator during the retired QB's time with the Denver Broncos.

The 43-year-old New Orleans native has been linked to several NFL-related jobs since retiring from on-field competition in March 2016.

Most recently, the two-time Super Bowl champion was mentioned as a potential replacement for Jason Witten—who ended a one-year retirement to rejoin the Dallas Cowboys in February—on ESPN's Monday Night Football telecasts.

Michael McCarthy of Sporting News reported last month ESPN executives sensed Manning's "ambivalence" about the MNF job and never made a formal contract offer after speaking with him for a second straight offseason. He was also viewed as a candidate to replace Jon Gruden in 2018.

While McCarthy noted the University of Tennessee product signed on with ESPN to create Peyton's Places, a 30-episode look at the NFL's history, it remains unclear whether he's interested in a full-time job.

"There's no doubt it's been a transition," Manning said about retirement in April 2017, per Zak Keefer of the Indy Star. "It's been welcomed and something I've really enjoyed."

Meanwhile, the Jets are in a period of transition after firing general manager Mike Maccagnan on Wednesday and moving Gase into the interim GM role in addition to his head coaching duties.

It was a stunning decision since New York allowed Maccagnan to handle all of the key offseason moves, highlighted by the draft and signing free-agent running back Le'Veon Bell.

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reported Gase "absolutely did not want to sign" Bell or any other running back to a big-money contract, which caused a rift to develop with Maccagnan.

Whether Manning has any interest in joining an organization in such turmoil that's coming off eight straight playoff-less seasons is unclear.