Bill Polian
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Bill Polian is an American football executive. He was the Vice Chairman of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League from 1998 to 2011. He rose to league prominence as the General Manager of the Buffalo Bills, building a team that participated in four straight Super Bowls, losing each time. Following his stint in Buffalo, Polian went on to become the General Manager of the expansion Carolina Panthers.
Prior to Polian's tenure in Buffalo, he began his career in professional football with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League, before moving to the Canadian Football League, where he assembled Grey Cup winning teams with the Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[1] Early on in his career, he was a coach for the now defunct football team at the Trinity School in New York City.
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[edit] Buffalo Bills
Polian was General Manager in Buffalo from 1986-1993. When Bill Polian was promoted to general manager of the Buffalo Bills on Dec. 30, 1985, the Bills were suffering from back to back 2-14 seasons and fan interest was at an all-time low. Polian had been with the Bills since August 2, 1984. He was originally hired as director of pro personnel. Polian was instrumental in the signing of Bruce Smith to his first NFL contract, after which he was promoted to GM in 1985.[2] Polian won the NFL Executive of the Year Award twice in 1988 and in 1991.[3] On February 4, 1993, after the Bills had appeared in their 3rd straight Super Bowl, Polian was fired as general manager.
[edit] Carolina Panthers
Polian was General Manager of the Panthers from 1994-1997. He tried to create the quickest Super Bowl winner in history, and nearly did so, building a team that went to the NFC Championship game in only its second year of existence. This feat led him to a promotion, becoming not just the GM, but the President of the Indianapolis Colts.
[edit] Indianapolis Colts
In 1997, Polian was hired as President and decided to build through the draft as the Colts would have the number 1 overall pick for 1998; the Colts picked Peyton Manning. Also in 1998, Polian hired his son Chris as Director of Pro Personnel; he was later promoted to Vice-President of Football Operations and general manager.
After the 2003 AFC Championship game, Polian convinced the competition committee and the league's head of officiating Mike Pereira to issue a crackdown on illegal contact and defensive holding in the secondary, claiming that the Colts receivers had been roughed up illegally by the Patriots defensive backs without penalty during the Championship game.[4]
Polian was fired by owner Jim Irsay after the Colts finished with a 2–14 record in the 2011-2012 season.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ "Bill Polian". Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. http://www.buffalosportshallfame.com/2007/bill_polian.html. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
- ^ http://www.billszone.com/?page_id=371
- ^ http://athlon.proexpertsclub.com/news/show/id/958#bmb=1
- ^ Battista, Judy (2007-01-19). "The rules are different, but a rivalry remains". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/19/sports/football/19colts.html. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
- ^ "Source: Polians out with Colts". ESPN.com. January 2, 2012. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7414912/polians-relieved-duties-indianapolis-colts-source-says. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
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| Preceded by Terry Bledsoe |
Buffalo Bills General Manager 1986–1993 |
Succeeded by John Butler |
| Preceded by franchise created |
Carolina Panthers General Manager 1994–1997 |
Succeeded by Marty Hurney (as director of player operations) and Jack Bushofsky (as director of pro personnel) |
| Preceded by Bill Tobin |
Indianapolis Colts General Manager 1997–2009 |
Succeeded by Chris Polian |
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