Perhaps the most intriguing team in pursuit of Peyton Manning are the Denver Broncos. And there is a pursuit. A fairly hot one, according to a person familiar with the situation. There is also reciprocal interest from Manning.

That doesn't mean this will happen and the odds of Manning joining the Broncos, while possible, are slim. There are two reasons why.

The first is Tim Tebow. I'm told Manning would be uncomfortable with Tebow being on the roster but also doesn't want to be seen as the guy who pushed Tebow out of Denver. The Broncos, I'm told, also don't want to trade Tebow even if Manning joins the team. The Broncos would have to come to some sort of resolution of these two things and it might just be too messy for a resolution to be reached.

There's also this little factoid. Manning is represented by super agent Tom Condon who recently formed a super partnership with another super agent, Jimmy Sexton, as part of a super agency of super agents. It's just one big bowl of super.

In all seriousness, Condon and Sexton are two of the most powerful in the business and, guess who Sexton represents? Yes, he reps Tebow.

So I'm not so sure Condon and Sexton would want their powerful clients in competition.

But keep this in mind: John Elway, pretty super himself at one point in his career, wants Manning badly. That is a fact and he's going to try and make this work.

The chances, though, remain slim. Yet I will say if there's one thing I've learned about Elway is never doubt him. The city of Cleveland would likely agree with me.

Gregg Williams, one of the men at the center of the bounty controversy involving the New Orleans Saints, met with officials from NFL Security on Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

I'm told these officials had a great many more questions for Williams about his role not just in the Saints' scandal but also if he was involved in other instances of organizing bounties. Newspaper reports have linked Williams to bounty programs at his previous coaching stops in Washington and Buffalo. No other details of the meeting were available.

The NFL's investigation, I'm told, is focusing on the players involved in the Saints bounty scandal but perhaps even more on Williams, coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis.

One message the NFL wants to make clear is that coaches and managers are responsible for the actions of their players and others. Commissioner Roger Goodell also wants to make a statement that player safety is paramount.

It's expected the NFL will release its disciplinary decisions within the next few weeks.
 

The Saints and Drew Brees are far apart in their negotiations for a long-term deal which could lead to something players despise: the franchise tag.

But before we get into that, let's go down the list of things to like about Drew Brees. He's coming off a record-setting year. He's one of the top three quarterbacks in football. Pretty good, so far. He's an excellent teammate, great leader and solid guy. More? Not a blemish off the field. More? He was a key party of New Orleans' recovery from Hurricane Katrina. On and on it goes.

Which is why it's a total mystery the Saints have yet to work out a deal with Brees. A league source says the two sides remain far apart and confirmed an ESPN report that New Orleans might use the franchise tag on Brees on Monday. Now, the ESPN report is slightly deceptive because if a team does use its franchise tag, they have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal and remove the tag.

My point is: What the hell are the Saints doing? I've said this before. There are certain players, only a handful, where you open the vault and roll out the cash. You give them a blank check. Brees is one of those players. Franchising Brees is going to anger him, no question. Players despise the tag because it limits their earning potential. So you've ticked off your best player. For what? Why?

The Saints want Brees and Brees wants to be a Saint, so in the end, Brees will get his long-term deal. It's just that the team is making Brees sweat it out. And that's just plain foolish.

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In what was at times a strange, highly intelligent, and extremely bizarre hour-long video chat, Randy Moss said he will attempt to return to the NFL.

"Your boy is going to come back and play some football," he said.

More on this later.

There are now reports the Colts will not hire Jim Tressel as head coach. This after a round of reports that Tressel had received two interviews and was in serious contention for the job. As a team source told me weeks ago there is no way in hell the Colts will hire Tressel to coach the team. That mostly stands. I've also been told Tressel never received two interviews for the job as previously reported and the one "interview" he received was very casual and more courtesy than anything else.

"Jim is well liked by Irsay," said a team source speaking of the Colts owner, "but not that well liked."

We'll see. Maybe Irsay does like taking huge, risky gambles with the future of his franchise.

League sources say the Colts have interviewed numerous candidates and aren't done. They're scheduled to speak with Baltimore defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. Foxsports.com reported 49ers special teams coach Brad Seely is now on the Colts radar. I was able to confirm that is indeed the case. Seely is viewed as a good potential head coach by people around football.

The Tressel-as-coach phenomenon got renewed life when Tony Dungy this week said he believed Irsay had focused on Tressel as head coach. That certainly opened my eyes but I continue to be told Tressel isn't getting the position.

Is it possible Irsay has become Jerry Jones and now rebuffs any notion of conventional wisdom? Possible. Irsay, again, is very different. He could hire Tressel as a giant (expletive) you to the league. Yes, that's possible, but no one on the Colts or in the league believes this will happen. They think Irsay's inner pragmatism will take over.

Irsay, I'm told, wants to hire an NFL assistant; some new coaching blood to go along with his theme of remaking the franchise almost entirely. This is the safer route and why Tressel doesn't make sense. The NFL is littered with the bodies of great college coaches who failed in the NFL from Steve Spurrier to Nick Saban and dozens of men between.

Do NFL assistants fail? Yes. But the failure rate for college coaches making the try is astronomical.

Again, Irsay is very different, and he could shock the NFL world with a Tressel hire.

But I think the team is heading in the direction of a hire like Pagano.

OPENING HIT: To say the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a little upset with Chip Kelly is an understatement. They are, well, furious.

A team source confirmed a Register-Guard report from Eugene that Kelly had agreed, then backed out of an agreement to coach the Bucs. It concludes yet another strange chapter in the history of Tampa coaching searches.

The Bucs are angry. One team source called Kelly "wishy-washy" and used a few other choice words. This is from the Bucs team perspective, and I suspect Kelly will give his side very shortly (and that side of the story will be portrayed very differently). But in the end none of this reflects well on Kelly. He looks soft, at least from the NFL side of things.

There is some history behind the Bucs being irritated. Bill Parcells had agreed to become the coach in 1992 and then famously backed out at the last second. That led to one of the funniest (saddest?) quotes in recent NFL history when owner Hugh Culverhouse said: "I feel like I've been jilted at the altar."

Now they've been jilted again.

The Miami Dolphins have completed their coaching search and hired Joe Philbin, according to a team source.

Philbin was the Packers' offensive coordinator and by many accounts he is one of the league's bright young talents. Now, it's easy to be a bright young talent when you have Aaron Rodgers as the quarterback but Philbin is still extremely innovative.

The Dolphins need an offensive mind and it also doesn't hurt the Dolphins that Philbin is tied to Matt Flynn, the quarterback in Green Bay.

A source close to Flynn told me that Flynn would "love to the challenge of being a starter" but emphasized he's loyal to the Packers. But if you had to wager don't put a lot of cash on Flynn staying in Green Bay.

It's been an emotional ride for Philbin and his family. Philbin lost his son in a tragic accident and now, just a short time later, he's set to become coach of the Dolphins.