Denver Broncos coach John Fox defended quarterback Peyton Manning on Tuesday after Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said he was "disappointed" the Colts won only one Super Bowl with the former No. 1 overall pick.

John Fox said he thought Jim Irsay's comments on Peyton Manning were "a cheap shot." Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

"I saw the comments. And to be honest with you, I thought it was a bit of a cheap shot," Fox said during an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "To me, in my opinion, they were disappointing and inappropriate.

"Peyton would never say anything. He's too classy to do that. They sounded a little ungrateful and unappreciative to me. For a guy who has set a standard, won a Super Bowl, won four MVP awards ... be thankful of that one Super Bowl ring, because a lot of people don't have one."

Irsay, in an interview with USA Today Sports, said the Colts have changed their model "a little bit" under Andrew Luck, because Irsay wants "more than one of these [rings]."

"[Tom] Brady never had consistent numbers, but he has three of these [rings]," Irsay told USA Today. "Pittsburgh had two, the Giants had two, Baltimore had two and we had one. That leaves you frustrated.

"You make the playoffs 11 times, and you're out in the first round seven out of 11 times. You love to have the 'Star Wars' numbers from Peyton and Marvin [Harrison] and Reggie [Wayne]. Mostly, you love this [ring]."

Irsay took to Twitter late Tuesday night to address his critics, writing:

Those expressing negatIvity about the concept of building well rounded teams around great QBs 2 achieve Championships have negative agendas — Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 16, 2013

The noise doesn't bother me,to quote the most loved Ind Colt of all time"I wanted to stay,Jim wanted me to stay,circumstances forced r hand" — Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) October 16, 2013

Irsay also told USA Today Sports that Manning thought the Colts could not pass up the chance to draft Luck.

The Colts have gone 15-7 since drafting Luck with the top overall pick in 2012. At the time of the conversation, Manning was recovering from fusion surgery on his neck and the Colts were attempting to rebound from a 2-14 season.

"[Manning] said, 'You've got to take Andrew,'" Irsay told USA Today Sports. "'You have to. You're crazy if you don't.'"