The New Orleans Saints have their first game of the season in just eight days against the Arizona Cardinals. As we continue our countdown to the season opener, we'll take a look at Archie Manning.
Manning is a legend in Saints history, especially with older Saints fans. He was essentially the face of the franchise in it's early years. He was drafted in 1971, only four seasons after the franchise was founded, and became the starting quarterback early in his rookie season. He remained the starter until 1981. Manning didn't see a lot of success in his decade long tenure, but he did lead the Saints to their first non-losing season in 1979.
After retiring from football, Manning remained in New Orleans. He raised his children in New Orleans, and Peyton and Eli Manning went on to be NFL quarterbacks. Archie also has a grandson hoping to make it to the league. Could he be the Saints future quarterback?
Will Arch Manning follow in his grandfather's shoes as a future Saint?
Everybody wants to talk about Arch Manning. Granted that conversation will likely slow down after a rough start to the season. There likely isn't a more anticipated player in college football than Manning so expect the conversation to continue, good or bad.
Arch has a built in relationship with the team because of Archie, and it was revealed earlier this month that Arch has sat in a meeting with the Saints in the past as they evaluated quarterbacks in the draft. It sounds like the meeting occurred around the end of Manning's high school career, so while the current coaches weren't involved in this meeting, Gayle Benson and Mickey Loomis have already begun to build a relationship with young Manning.
The connection between the Saints and Arch Manning isn't going to fade unless he has a poor season or the Saints begin to exceed expectations. As long as there is a chance that he'll be a top-5 pick and the Saints will be close