Retired New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is taking a year off from the NFL in the wake of his retirement, but come 2021, he may look to get his foot back in the door.
What that will entail remains to be seen, but Manning guarantees it will not come in the form of an NFL coach, but he does hope his next role involves the Giants.
“I really wanted to try to take a year off and just try to gather my bearings and get settled with my family and figure out what I want to do in that next chapter,” Manning told ESPN on Thursday. “I know one thing: I don’t want to be an NFL coach. I’ve seen what our coaches do and the hours they put in, and I enjoy being with my family and enjoy coaching some of their sports teams.
“Football is my love and passion. It is all I’ve known for the last 25 years and all I’ve been doing. I don’t think I can stray too far away from that. I’d like to hope to do something with the Giants, stay involved with them. I probably need a little break right now just because it’s so new. So I’m going to take a little time, enjoy some family time, but I assume I’ll be jumping back into football in some way.”
Giants co-owner John Mara has been vocal about his desire to see Manning remain involved with the organization, leaving the door open to a multitude of roles.
“I’ve mentioned to him the possibility of thinking about other roles in the organization, and he’s just undecided right now,” Mara said before Manning had made the decision to retire. “I told him there’s no time limit on that. We’ll talk whenever he’s ready to sit down and talk again.”
If Manning does not return to the Giants in some capacity, he’s given at least some thought to broadcasting of coaching at a High School level, which would a manageable commitment compared to coaching in the NFL.
“I don’t know if I want to do announcing … yet. Or go into that field. I might want to stay more hands-on with either the Giants or some coaching with a high school team,” Manning said.
Odds are, Manning will return to the Giants in some capacity in 2021.