Manning recalls then-coach Harbaugh, 49, surreptitiously watching practice Originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Peyton Manning had a hilarious interaction with Jim Harbaugh in the spring of 2012.
On Monday’s “Manningcast,” the former NFL quarterback told his brother Eli and Bill Belichick about the time he worked out for Harbaugh in disguise.
“When [Indianapolis] The Colts released me as a free agent, Eli I told you this story, I work out with Duke and Jim Harbaugh and [Greg] Roman was with the 49ers and they came to work me out,” Manning explained.
After missing the entire 2011 NFL season with a neck injury, Manning was a hot commodity on the free agent market in the spring of 2012. At the time, 49ers head coach Harbaugh wanted to see if Manning had fully recovered from his injury.
“But they didn’t want to tell anybody that they were after me,” Manning said. “So Harbaugh watched the entire practice from his car wearing a Bill Belichick hoodie. I was there throwing and he said, “I want to see you go back to left. I want to see you on the run.’
“The reason he didn’t want to be seen is because he wasn’t sure [ESPN NFL insider Adam] Schefter was going to hide in the trees, which he could easily become…
“I had a great practice. We had a burnout game after practice and Jim wanted me to see how well he was still throwing the ball, but that was back in 2012 at Duke University. He was in a hoodie and he looked like Belichick.”
While Harbaugh successfully resurrected the career of Alex Smith after arriving in San Francisco in 2011, the coach was open to the idea of replacing him with a more dynamic quarterback. However, Manning ended up signing with the Denver Broncos and Colin Kaepernick eventually took over the 49ers under center and led them to Super Bowl XLVII.
Considering how close San Francisco came to winning the Super Bowl, one has to wonder what could have been had Manning decided to sign with the 49ers.
While with Denver, the legendary signal caller won his fifth NFL MVP award and Super Bowl 50, so he still has plenty left in the tank.
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