The Manning Legacy: A Manning Football Timeline
- Mayline Ruiz
- Sep 24
- 7 min read
With college football in full swing, there have been a lot of eyes on specific football players and curiosity about how they will pan out. One player who stands out from the rest is an athlete from football royalty, and that is Arch Manning. The Manning name has always been in the spotlight, and it started with New Orleans Saints former quarterback, Archie Manning. Let's take a quick look at the Manning family's football legacy and what that means for Arch.
Archie Manning
Archie Manning was born on May 19, 1949, in Drew, Mississippi. Manning attended Drew High School, where he played quarterback for the football team. Archie committed to the University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss. Archie made his debut in 1968 against Memphis State, where he led the Rebels to a victory of 21-7. In his debut, he ran 67 yards and had one touchdown.
Archie played at Ole Miss for three years, scoring 25 touchdowns while gaining 823 rushing yards on 314 attempts. Archie was awarded the Most Valuable Player in the Southeastern Conference and won the Walter Camp Memorial Trophy in 1969. With his success at Ole Miss, he was honored in 1989 at the College Football Hall of Fame.
Following his time at Ole Miss, Archie was drafted by the New Orleans Saints. He made his National Football League debut in 1971, and he went to play with the Saints for 11 years before getting traded to the Houston Oilers, now known as the Tennessee Titans. During his time with the Saints, he played in 134 games, scored 115 touchdowns, and gained 23911 yards passing.
Once he got traded, Archie spent two years with the Houston Oilers, where he played in 9 games, scored eight touchdowns, and had 1632 yards gained by passing. His time with the Oilers didn't last long before he got traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 1983, where he played for two years, playing in eight games, scoring two touchdowns, and gaining 545 yards by passing. In his final years playing in the NFL, Archie suffered an elbow injury and a thyroid condition, which caused him to retire in 1985.
Archie Manning has received the New Orleans Saints Ring of Honor, is in the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, and the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame. However, just because he retired, it doesn't mean football ended there. The football chaos was just starting.
Cooper Manning
Cooper Manning was born on March 6, 1974, in New Orleans, Louisiana. While Cooper never made his debut in college football or the NFL, he still found his way in the world of football. Cooper played as a wide receiver at Isidore Newman High School. In a family full of quarterbacks, Cooper went the other route as a wide receiver, and he was able to play his senior year alongside his younger brother, Peyton.
Cooper received an offer from Ole Miss; however, a spinal stenosis diagnosis led him to stop playing football. Manning first felt that he had numbness in his fingers and toes, which is what led to the diagnosis. During his short time playing football, he was a two-time All-State selection at his school. Cooper didn't just play football, but he also played basketball.
Manning decided to follow in his father's footsteps and attended Ole Miss. The injury never stopped him from keeping his feet in the football world. Cooper has gotten involved in the NFL through the media by being a contributor to pregame shows and a commentator. Manning has also stepped into the business world by being a partner at Word Weil in New Orleans and is currently a senior managing director at AJ Capital Partners.
His time away from football allowed him to see his brothers emerge and go through the successes and tribulations of playing in college football and the NFL, and now he gets to live through it with his son, Arch Manning, as well.
Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 24, 1976. Peyton went to Isidore Newman High School, where he played quarterback for three years. He had more than 7000 yards, as well as throwing 92 touchdowns. Peyton was also awarded the 1993 Gatorade Circle of Champions National Player of the Year award. While many people thought he would go to Ole Miss, Peyton decided to attend the University of Tennessee.
Manning debuted his freshman year at the University of Tennessee in 1994. Peyton played 45 games where he had 11201 yards gained by passing with 89 touchdowns. His dominance played a pivotal role; in fact, Peyton holds 42 NCAA, SEC, and Tennessee records. In his senior year in 1997, he received the Maxwell Award, Player of the Year honors, and the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award. After he graduated from the University of Tennessee, obtaining his degree in Speech Communications, he went on to be drafted by the Indianapolis Colts.
Peyton spent the majority of his career with the Colts. Peyton debuted in 1998, where he went on to spend 13 years with the Colts. Peyton played 208 games, where he had 309 touchdowns and 54828 yards gained by passing. Manning had two Super Bowl appearances during his time with the Colts, where they won against the Chicago Bears in 2007, 29-17, and another time where the Colts lost against the New Orleans Saints in 2010, 31-17. With the Super Bowl win in 2007, Peyton Manning was named the Super Bowl MVP, where he completed 25 of 38 passes for a touchdown and 247 yards.
In 2006, Peyton Manning suffered a hit during a game with the Washington Redskins, now known as the Washington Commanders. This led to numerous surgeries, such as spinal fusion in 2011, which caused him to miss the entire season. Due to the severity of the situation, the Colts released Manning, which led him to sign with the Denver Broncos.
Peyton made his debut with the Broncos in 2012 and played with them for four years. Peyton played in 58 games, where he recorded 140 touchdowns with 17112 yards gained by passing. A year later, Peyton made his third appearance in the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks, where the Broncos ultimately lost 43-8. It wasn't until 2015 that he got his second Super Bowl win against the Carolina Panthers, 24-10. While Peyton didn't have any touchdowns, he completed 13 of 23 attempts for 141 yards.
Following his win with the Broncos, Peyton decided to retire in 2016. In 2017, Manning was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and in 2021, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. During his time playing in the NFL, he was able to share it alongside his brother, Eli Manning.
Eli Manning
Eli Manning was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 3, 1981. With the influence of his brothers and father, he followed in their footsteps by playing football. Manning also attended Isidore Newman High School and led them to a state championship, as he threw more than 7,000 yards. With his impressive record, Eli received an offer from the University of Mississippi, where he attended for the next four years.
During his time at Ole Miss, Manning played in 43 games where he threw 10119 yards and scored 81 touchdowns. He also won the Maxwell Award, the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Scholar Athlete Award, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, and more. After four years at Ole Miss, Eli graduated with a marketing degree and was drafted to the San Diego Chargers.
While Eli was drafted to the San Diego Chargers, he was traded just a few hours later to the New York Giants following his decision not to play for the Chargers. After this decision, Eli played for the Giants for 16 years, where he won two Super Bowl Championships. His first Super Bowl win was against the New England Patriots in 2008, where they won 17-14. His second win came against the Patriots again in 2012 when the Giants won 21-17. In both Super Bowl appearances, Eli was given the Super Bowl MVP Award.
In his 16 years with the Giants, Eli had 366 passing touchdowns with 57023 passing yards. After years of success with the Giants, Eli decided to retire in 2020. However, he remained in the Giants organization by working in fan engagement and business operations. He is currently working with ESPN on a broadcast called ManningCast alongside Peyton Manning for Monday Night Football.
With all of the Manning brothers out of the NFL, football fans have been waiting to see if another Manning will step up. While there aren't any Manning relatives in the NFL, there is Arch Manning, who is in his sophomore year at the University of Texas.
Arch Manning
Arch Manning, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 27, 2004, is the son of Cooper Manning. Following in his father's and uncle's footsteps, Arch also attended Isidore Newman High School. Arch had played in 42 games where he had 8539 passing yards and 115 touchdowns.
Apart from football, Arch also played basketball, where he played in 61 games and scored 186 points. During the summer going into his senior year, Arch decided to commit to the University of Texas to grow and develop under Steve Sarkisian.
His freshman year at Texas, Arch only played in two games and debuted against Texas Tech. In his debut, he completed three of five passes for 30 yards. Arch also played a few snaps against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship game, where Texas won.
In 2024, Arch was a redshirt freshman, which is when an athlete is in their second year at college academically but is a freshman athletically due to being redshirted. Arch played in 10 games, where he had 939 yards gained by passing with nine touchdowns. Heading into his sophomore year, Arch has only played in three games, gaining 579 yards by passing with six touchdowns.
Texas is currently 2-1 in the 2025 season; however, many football and Texas fans aren't too happy with his performance. He's had a shaky start, having three interceptions this season, and there have been signs of questionable decisions and miscommunication.
While spectators aren't too happy with his performance, it's still early in the season. What do you think? Do you have a favorite player from the Manning family? Let me know what you think!
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