Accorsi had scouted Manning at Mississippi, where Eli had followed in his father’s footsteps, and hoped that he could induce the Chargers to select Manning but then trade him to the Giants. The deal was consummated when the Giants chose quarterback Philip Rivers and sent him to San Diego for Manning, along with the Giants’ third-round pick that year and the team’s first- and fifth-round selections in 2005.

Manning was installed as the team’s starting quarterback by November 2004. By the next season, the Giants won 11 games and made the playoffs, where they were routed in the first round. A string of poor performances ensued for the team and for Manning, with the Giants finishing 8-8 in 2006. Entering the 2007 season, Manning’s record as a starter, including the playoffs, was 20-21.

Coughlin’s coaching job was on the line, and potentially so was Manning’s future with the Giants. But the magical 2007 playoff run altered the trajectory of Manning’s career. The second Super Bowl victory, not insignificantly coming at the expense of New England quarterback Tom Brady, secured Manning’s place in America’s most popular sport.

Soon he was a major sports figure in the New York metropolitan area and beyond. He started appearing in prominent national television commercials, often with his brother Peyton and their father. He hosted “Saturday Night Live,” where he adroitly exhibited his genuine aw-shucks bearing for comic effect.

Although Manning was renowned for never saying much in media interviews — a strategy modeled after another New York athletic star of the era, Derek Jeter — his teammates and the reporters regularly covering the team came to appreciate a droll, biting sense of humor. At the right moments, he could lampoon his own image or media coverage of it. In the locker room, he was unmatched as a prankster.