Eli Manning has shed light on his decision to hold out on the San Diego Chargers back when he was the No. 1 prospect in the 2004 NFL draft.
Manning infamously refused to play for the Chargers, who held the No. 1 pick at the time, due to the less-than-stellar team infrastructure in San Diego at the time.
During a recent interview on the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast, Manning was asked about his thought process leading up to him blacklisting the Chargers. The two-time Super Bowl winner pointed to one incident in particular when Manning felt like a child listening to his parents fighting at the dinner table.
Eli Manning breaks down what actually went wrong between him and the San Diego Chargers in 2004.
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“I just didn’t feel like they were the most committed team to winning at the time. Marty Schottenheimer was the head coach. He was awesome, had great respect for him. They came to work me out in New Orleans, went to dinner, there was just friction between the head coach, the general manager, the owners, they were all yelling, kind of like fighting.
“We were at a Marriott restaurant. Schottenheimer’s mad like, ‘We’re in New Orleans, and we’re eating at a Marriott? So he’s pissed, and they’re bickering. It didn’t seem like there was a whole lot of agreement on things.”
As the story goes, Manning ended up getting traded to the New York Giants, where he became a franchise icon who beat Tom Brady twice at the peak of his powers.
During his playing days, Manning tried to avoid talking about his snub of San Diego. But with his career long over and the Chargers no longer even being in the same city, he’s finally comfortable enough to broach the subject again.
