The more things change, the more they stay the same.
On Friday, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning called it a career, officially announcing his retirement from professional football after 16 years.
In attendance was his understudy, rookie quarterback Daniel Jones, who will now take over the throne from Eli and only hope to accomplish what his predecessor did.
Luckily, in Eli’s mind, the Giants are in good hands.
“I think there’s a bright future,” Manning said. “I have a lot of fond memories of being in the meeting rooms and being with the coaches and being around Daniel and Alex Tanney in the quarterback room. We had lots of laughs and great work that we did.
“I know Daniel. I appreciate a lot of things about him, and the fact that he loves the game of football. He’s passionate about it and he works extremely hard, so you appreciate those things. If that weren’t the case, it might have been harder to go through this situation, but you see the way he conducts himself, and I think, you know, he’s got a bright, bright future ahead of him and do so the Giants.”
Unsurprisingly, Jones will keep a long-standing Manning tradition alive as he takes over as the franchise. He will return to North Carolina this offseason and workout at Duke facilities alongside David Cutcliffe, who had done the very same with Manning over the past decade and a half.
.@DukeFOOTBALL HC @DavidCutcliffe told @CFD22 & me on @SiriusXMNFL that he already has planned some offseason workouts with one of his proteges — @Giants QB Daniel Jones. Plan is to work on "fundamentals" that may include drills related to better ball-protection in the pocket
— Alex Marvez (@alexmarvez) January 24, 2020
Cutcliffe served as Manning’s head coach at Ole Miss before moving onto Tennessee from 2006-2007 and then landing at Duke, where’s remained ever since.
During that time, Cutcliffe also oversaw Jones, who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
Will Manning also make his way to Duke to help mentor Jones during those trips? The answer to that question won’t be realized for months, but in the mean time, Jones is focused on doing everything he can to fill Manning’s shoes.
“He’s thinking about the future of an organization that means a whole lot to him,” Jones said, via the New York Post. “I understand that being an emotional situation for him, for someone who has done as much as he has for the organization, who’s been kind of the face of the organization for 16 years, it certainly makes sense he’d be emotional about the future of it.
“That’s something I take seriously, his concern for it and the responsibility we all have as current Giants and where he’s left the legacy of the organization. It’s our job to continue that and to build on that.”
[vertical-gallery id=639380]