Peyton Manning feared Patriots' locker room was bugged, Tony Dungy says

Peyton Manning worried that the New England Patriots had microphones in the visitors' locker room, and would move to a nearby hallway to discuss crucial game-plan details, former head coach Tony Dungy says.

Dungy, who coached Manning with the Indianapolis Colts from 2002-08, made the revelation on the "Dan Patrick Show" on Thursday.

"I know that that is very true, and, you know, as Peyton talked to guys who played for the Patriots, some of the guys who came over - whether it’s true or not he treated it as true. We didn't have a lot of strategy discussions inside the locker room there," Dungy said, according to Pro Football Talk.

The Patriots and spying have been linked since the "Spygate" scandal broke in 2007, but it seems Manning may have heard whispers of espionage on the part of Bill Belichick's team before the public did.

Then again, Manning may simply have been paranoid.

"Peyton takes everything to the nth degree," Dungy said.

The Patriots have never been proven to have bugged their locker rooms (or even been formally accused of it), but that probably won't stop much of the public from believing this and all subsequent rumors about cheating.