Manning en route to Nashville

Peyton Manning is coming to the Titans – at least for a visit.

Manning was picked up by owner Bud Adams private plane on Wednesday afternoon at Raleigh-Durham Airport and was en route as of 2 p.m. for Nashville for a likely meeting at the Titans practice facilities.

Coach Mike Munchak, COO Mike Reinfeldt and general manager Ruston Webster were spotted by media at the Nashville airport and are believed to be aboard the plane as well.

That Manning is coming to visit the Titans is a good sign that Tennessee has a strong chance of landing him. Manning visited with the Miami Dolphins and coach Joe Philbin in his home of Indianapolis. He made weekend visits to the Denver Broncos and Arizona Cardinals. The Broncos are believed to be the other strong contender in the Manning sweepstakes.

Once in Nashville, Manning is scheduled to meet with some of the other members of the Titans offensive coaching staff, likely offensive coordinator Chris Palmer and quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains.

Adams’ plane had been parked at Nashville International Airport overnight, but departed around 11:15 CDT with an itinerary for Atlanta that was quickly “diverted,” according to FlightAware.com to Raleigh-Durham where Manning has been working out under the supervision of Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who was his offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee.

The plane picked up Manning and then headed back to Nashville where it was scheduled to land at John Tune Airport, with the Titans then believed to be bringing Manning to their facilities.