The Tennessee Titans will meet with free-agent quarterback Peyton Manning, owner Bud Adams confirmed Tuesday night, hours after a league source told NFL Network about the get-together.
Adams told WSMV-TV that the Titans' contingent will fly out of Nashville on Wednesday and spend the day with Manning, a meeting apparently delayed by complications in finding a co-pilot for the owner's private plane. Adams told the TV station he believes Manning really is interested in the Titans' offer, and he expects a quick decision from the four-time NFL MVP.
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"I think he's ... wanting to sign up with somebody pretty quickly," Adams said by telephone from his Houston home.
Titans head coach Mike Munchak and executive senior vice president and COO Mike Reinfeldt left the Titans' team facility Wednesday followed by general manager Ruston Webster, NFL Network's Steve Cyphers reported. Adams' private jet was scheduled to depart for Atlanta soon thereafter, according to Cyphers. The plane was redirected to Raleigh, N.C. Manning has been spending his time recently working out at nearby Duke University.
Manning has visited with the Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins after being released by the Indianapolis Colts last week.
Where Wednesday's meeting will take place remains a secret, though a private plane with a Titans emblem on the tail arrived in Nashville on Tuesday afternoon with a flight plan projecting it to arrive in Raleigh-Durham a couple hours later. The plane was towed behind a hangar, and the flight plan was scrapped for the night.
NFL Network's Albert Breer reported earlier Tuesday that the Titans are confident in Munchak's ability to recruit -- the coach was a major reason why quarterback Matt Hasselbeck landed in Nashville last year.
Munchak left the Titans' facility at 7:50 p.m. Tuesday wearing a sports coat. He waved to reporters but didn't stop to talk.
In the event they sign Manning, the Titans would prefer to keep 2011 first-round draft pick Jake Locker, team sources told Breer. Hasselbeck almost certainly would be traded or released.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
