When former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy surveys the winless team he once led, he is reminded of his early years as a defensive backs coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Armed with an aging Terry Bradshaw at the helm, the team passed on a guy named Dan Marino in the 1983 NFL Draft and spent another 20 years searching for a franchise quarterback.
Dungy believes the Colts need to look to the future and draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck if they have the chance.
"I think you have to take him," Dungy told "The Dan Patrick Show" on Friday.
Dungy said Peyton Manning "would handle it OK, because you know it's coming."
"I would see him competing and playing as long as he wanted," Dungy said. "If it gets to the point to where, hey, he comes back and it looks like he's gonna play three or four more years, and you say -- we've got Andrew Luck, we've got an asset -- we trade (Peyton)."
Trade Manning?
Up until now, the mere idea of parting ways with No. 18 seemed impossible. But the Colts have wandered into strange lands, 0-6 for the first time since 1997, a disastrous season that netted Indy the top pick in the 1998 NFLÂ Draft. They used that pick on Manning, and they shouldn't be afraid to pull the trigger again come April.
