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Under G.M. Scott Pioli, the Chiefs have adopted a Belichickian brand of secrecy. And for good reason; Pioli also is the son-in-law of the NFL’s master of ceremonial silence, Bill Parcells.

So why are the Chiefs so openly chasing quarterback Peyton Manning?

On Friday, owner Clark Hunt acknowledged that the Chiefs want Manning, in an interview with Darren Rovell of NBC Sports Network.

“He is somebody that we’ll talk to,’’ Hunt said, via Adam Teicher of the Kansas City Star. “There’s certainly going to be tremendous interest in Peyton Manning across the league. He’s one of the greatest players in the history of the league. He’s also an incredible person. We feel really good about the team we have in Kansas City going into the 2012 season, but we’ll look for any opportunity to improve and, of course, that includes Peyton Manning.”

Here’s a theory. The Chiefs know that the Broncos are desperate to solve the Tebow problem, and that Peyton Manning gives V.P. of football operations John Elway his only way out. Having the Chiefs at the table could prompt the Broncos to give up too much to get Manning, especially since the Broncos reportedly are willing to do “whatever it takes” to make it happen.

The pursuit of Peyton also gives current starter Matt Cassel a not-so-gentle nudge. If the Chiefs don’t land Manning, Cassel nevertheless will be on notice that he needs to get better, or get lost.

Unless the Chiefs under Pioli suddenly have changed their ways, the publicly-acknowledged interest in Manning likely is part of a plan that doesn’t play out with Peyton playing more than once per year at Arrowhead Stadium.