Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams went all-in on trying to land four-time MVP Peyton Manning. When Manning announced on Monday that he intends to play for the Denver Broncos, Adams reacted to the news with measured disappointment.
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"I want to thank the whole organization for their efforts in trying to sign Peyton and also to Peyton for the time he put into the process," Adams said via a statement released by the team. "Peyton called me this morning to inform me of his decision and obviously I am disappointed, because I thought we would be a perfect fit."
The Titans were one of the three finalists -- along with the Broncos and the San Francisco 49ers -- and Manning and Titans head coach Mike Munchak hit it off during the quarterback's meeting with the team. It was very hard for Manning to call Munchak on Monday morning and inform him of his decision to go to Denver, a source close to the situation told NFL Network's Michelle Beisner.
The 89-year-old Adams told The Tennessean on Monday that he wanted to do what he could to win a title as soon as possible.
"I was hoping we could get him," Adams said. "On my next birthday I will be 90 years old. So I felt he could get us in the championship quickly."
Adams, though, seemed to have accepted the development well, telling the newspaper that he joked with Manning about his next stop.
"I told him he was going into high altitude so he better start getting in shape," Adams said.
Adams acknowledged that the team is "going to miss getting him" to The Tennessean, but made a point in his statement to praise the current Titans quarterbacks.
"I like our quarterback situation moving forward and we will continue to build the team through free agency and the draft with that goal in mind," he said in the statement.
"I also want to commend Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker," Adams added. "They were thrown into a very difficult situation. Matt was very good for us last year; and at some point, we expect Jake to be our future franchise quarterback."
