INDIANAPOLIS -- Archie Manning figures Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck can co-exist in Indianapolis after all.

One day after Archie Manning told Fox Sports Radio he didn't think either quarterback wanted to be on the same team, he backtracked and said he thought the two could work together just fine -- if the winless Colts get the No. 1 pick next spring and choose Luck.

"I'm sure they could," Archie Manning said in a phone interview Wednesday. "Andrew is a great young man and we've enjoyed getting to know him. He and Peyton have a friendship, and I'm one of the few people out there that's not really concerned about this deal. All good people respect each other and I'm sure this will all shake out."

The connection between the Mannings and the Lucks dates back almost three decades when Archie Manning and Luck's father, Oliver, were teammates in Houston.

The two family patriarchs still communicate and their quarterback-playing sons have gotten to know one another, too. Andrew Luck has attended the Manning Passing Academy as both a pupil and a counselor, and after making up his mind to return to school last winter, the Stanford quarterback contacted Peyton Manning asking for advice about how to handle this season.

But Tuesday morning on Fox Sports Radio, Archie Manning seemed to express concerns over the two being teammates in 2012.

"I don't think it'd necessarily be great for either one," he said then. "I think Andrew's the type of mature player . . . he can walk right in. I mean, these other three or four guys that are playing this year, (if) they can walk in and contribute, Andrew can, too."

The comments caused lots of commotion in Indianapolis, where the 0-12 Colts are a heavy favorite to get the top pick in April's draft and could select Luck.

Team vice chairman Bill Polian has declined to comment specifically on Luck, citing NFL rules that prohibit team officials from commenting on players until they make themselves eligible for the draft. Luck has not yet filed the paperwork to give up his final year of eligibility and enter the draft.

Archie Manning, who is promoting the Liberty Mutual coach of the year award, explained Wednesday that he didn't mean to raise such a ruckus.

"I thought they were asking whether Andrew Luck should sit or play, and I think he's too good to sit," he said.

Earlier Wednesday in an appearance on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike in the Morning," Manning also tried to clarify his comments but still made it sound like it would be better for Peyton Manning and Luck to be on separate teams.

"Peyton has a special relationship with the (Colts) owner, Jim Irsay. They've been through some good times together. He's got a special relationship with Bill Polian," Manning told ESPN Radio.