Keeler: Can we trust a guy who’s 0-2 against Eli to bring home the gold? Heck, yeah, we can. The mighty U.S. and A., as my old pal Borat used to call it, doesn’t need a master tactician to bring home the ’28 gold. Or a master motivator. It doesn’t need a crusty son of a gun glowering at the international press corps. It doesn’t need Sean Payton accidentally causing an international incident. The Stars & Stripes will have enough talent — and speed — to field a dozen flag football teams that could lap the world. If I’m Team USA, I want more of an ambassador. Someone who can help sell the soccer-loving world that a.) this game is worth bringing back to your homeland; and b.) flag football — our football — has serious potential for growth on the world stage. Name me a better ambassador for football, anywhere, than PFM.

Renck: The easy answer is Payton. He boasts a Super Bowl ring and 17 years leading teams. But while the Olympics will feature NFL players, these will not be NFL games. Manning has more experience with flag football. He has coached the Pro Bowl event multiple times. He has also served as his son Marshall’s youth flag and tackle football coach and is well-versed in the nuances of 7-on-7 summer leagues from his post at the Manning Passing Academy. He would be available and treat it like a Super Bowl with his attention to detail.

Keeler: Exactly! Plus, Manning actually sounds as if he wants the job. “I’d like to be a coach on that team,” PFM told his old pal Pat McAfee last year when the subject was broached. Stars don’t just want to play with other stars. They want to coach with them, too. If you thought Deion Sanders was turning Boulder into Canton West with the likes of Warren Sapp and Marshall Faulk, can you imagine the guys who’d want to work with Manning and Team USA? Picture it. Defensive coordinator: Ray Lewis. Offensive coordinator: Drew Brees.

Renck: Brees has been mentioned for the same reasons as Manning. A former all-time great quarterback will demand respect. Brees would be good. Manning would be better. And besides, Payton will be busy leading the Broncos in training camp as they defend an AFC West title. Manning knows current players. He understands the gravity of the Olympics after his media assignments in Paris. Team USA will be the biggest favorite since the 1992 Dream Team in hoops. Manning will make sure every wrinkle is ironed and take nothing for granted. Let him plant his flag as coach if he so desires.

Keeler: Payton needs to focus more on the Chiefs, Chargers, Raiders, Bills, Ravens and Bengals and less on Team Luxembourg. Eyes on the prize. And speaking of eyes, if you want people to actually watch an event that, on paper, should be as one-sided as that ’92 men’s basketball field, you better darn well entertain them. What would be more entertaining than Peyton and Eli, mic’d up, coaching the same squad and giving each other grief on an international stage? Fire up the popcorn, USOC. There’s a new Sheriff in town.

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Only this time, he won’t be playing.

Fredette was announced Monday as the first managing director of USA Basketball’s 3×3 men’s national team, the same role that Grant Hill has with the senior men’s national team. Fredette — the former NBA lottery pick and 2011 AP college player of the year who retired as a player last week — will essentially oversee the selection of players and coaches for major international competitions such as the FIBA World Cup, FIBA AmeriCup, the Pan American Games and ultimately the Olympics.

“It’s an unbelievable honor to be a managing director at USA Basketball,” Fredette said. “There’s not a whole lot of bigger titles than that in the sport. To be able do something meaningful in the sport, to help build a program and hopefully do it the right way, it’s an unbelievable opportunity.”

Fredette didn’t know much about the 3×3 game — a fast-paced style played on a half-court with a 12-second shot clock, games going to 21 points and capped at 10 minutes, baskets worth one and two points — when he was asked to consider playing for the U.S. for the first time about three years ago.

He eventually became the top-ranked 3×3 player in FIBA’s world rankings.

“Jimmer brought his legendary shooting style to 3×3 in 2022 and quickly became one of the most beloved athletes on the halfcourt,” USA Basketball CEO Jim Tooley said. “His knowledge of and skill for the game, ability to lead and reputation as one of the game’s best shooters in history puts him in a prime position to become the first person in this role and help shape USA Basketball’s 3×3 men’s national team program on the road to Los Angeles.”

USA Basketball plans to proceed with the same structure for the 3×3 women’s national team program. It is in the process of identifying a managing director, with plans to announce that person’s hiring later this year.

“Jimmer Fredette is the ideal former athlete and leader to continue to build the USA 3×3 men’s program into the premier program in the world,” said retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chair of USA Basketball’s board of directors.

Fredette was USA Basketball’s 3×3 Male Athlete of the Year in 2023, won gold medals at the 2023 Pan American Games and 2022 FIBA 3×3 Men’s AmeriCup, and made the roster for the Paris Olympics.

The 3×3 game, he said, came at the right time for his life as a player. He wanted more time with his family in Colorado and passed on opportunities to continue playing the 5-on-5 game internationally, turning to the 3×3 game instead because it rarely took him away from home for more than a few days at a time.

He accepted this offer in part because he wants to thank USA Basketball for that opportunity.

“I definitely can see myself doing this and being a part of this,” Fredette said. “The people treated me so well, and I love all the people involved. I just want to be able to give back and help as much as I can.”

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