HBO debuted their newest season of NFL Hard Knocks: Preseason on Tuesday night as the show follows the Chicago Bears, who have two former Tennessee players on their roster.
Former Vol wide receiver and return man Velus Jones Jr. enters his third season in Chicago while former Top 10 pick Darnell Wright begins his second season.
But it was a different former Tennessee Volunteer who had the attention during the season-opening episode of Hard Knocks.
During the episode, Bears head coach Matt Eburflus brought in former Alabama coach Nick Saban to share some words of wisdom. Eburflus was a starting linebacker on the Nick Saban-coached Toledo squad during the 1990 season as the two go way back.
While explaining to Eberflus his mindset of protecting a young quarterback on and off the field, Saban mentioned how Manning’s rookie season with the Colts in 1998 was historically bad but that he was able to bounce back with good coaching around him.
“Development is the key for him,” Saban said of rookie QB Caleb Williams in a one-on-one conversation with Eberflus. “You know, like, Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions when he was a rookie. That’s the most in history. But it didn’t affect him. It’s like the scoreboard. The scoreboard doesn’t mean anything until the game is over.”
The Saban-Manning clip begins at the 18-minute mark of the season-opening episode.
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Saban mentioning the former Tennessee legend brings back two recent memories.
The first comes from a Sept. 2021 episode of the Monday Night Manningcast, when Eli Manning referenced Peyton Manning wearing a Cowboy hat in the crowd during an Ole Miss-LSU football game.
“I think you were a little distracted that game. There was someone in the crowd with a giant head that was wearing a cowboy hat.”@EliManning had to take a jab at Peyton with Nick Saban 😂 pic.twitter.com/1ZHtXY21aE
— ESPN (@espn) September 28, 2021
The second, of course, was Saban’s final game in Neyland Stadium. The former Tennessee quarterback lit up a cigar in celebration of Tennessee’s last-second victory over the Tide in what would be Saban’s penultimate game against the Volunteers in 2022.
#NFL HOF QB Peyton Manning lighting up a cigar to celebrate Tennessee’s momentous win. pic.twitter.com/U7WM50H10i
— Garrett Joseph Franks (@garrett_franks) October 15, 2022
