The Atlanta Falcons officially brought back franchise legend Matt Ryan to lead football operations on Saturday.
The decision brings back the greatest Falcon to ever play in an Atlanta uniform to salvage the team from its eight-season playoff drought and restore winning ways to the franchise.
The decision made us think about what other NFL teams that have fallen on hard times could make a similar move. What other NFL legends could return to their teams and take the reins of the franchise?
We’ve identified five players and put them back in control of their old teams. Let’s dig into who they are and why their returns make a lot of sense.
Indianapolis Colts: Peyton Manning
It’s time. Manning has a statue outside of Lucas Oil Stadium, and it’s high time the Colts bring him back to run the organization. He could follow in the steps of John Elway and try to bring another Super Bowl to Indianapolis from the front office. There is not a more obvious name on this list than Manning returning to Indy as its head of football.
New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees
With Ryan going to Atlanta, let’s reignite the classic NFC South rivalry with Brees returning to New Orleans to take over the Saints. Brees could make an identical jump from broadcasting to running the team as Ryan did. It’s not all that wild to imagine Brees and Ryan squaring off again from the suites as their teams clash twice a season.
New York Jets: Darrelle Revis
The Jets are poised for a massive rebuild, so why not bring in one of your greatest players to lead the operation? Revis could bring back some ideas from that 2000s Jets success and potentially return a winner to the Big Apple.
Arizona Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald returning to Arizona to take over the Cardinals could give Glendale a lot to believe in for the future. He knows as well as anyone what it takes to get a franchise to a Super Bowl. With his knowledge of the game and Hall of Fame success on the field, Arizona bringing back its greatest-ever player to run things makes plenty of sense.
Cleveland Browns: Joe Thomas
Thomas is a legend in Cleveland, and he feels like the exact person to get the Browns back on track. He has as good of an understanding as anybody of how Cleveland functions and could potentially build a winner in the Dawg Pound.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: 5 NFL legends who could join Matt Ryan in taking over their old teams
