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Bill Polian Enshrined into the NFL Hall of Fame Class of 2015

By Dave McKee

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The NFL Hall of Fame Class of 2015 includes former Colts General Manager Bill Polian. He was enshrined on Saturday, August 8th as an NFL contributor. It was his contribution in Indianapolis that is most remembered.

Bill Polian was a general manger for only three teams – Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts – throughout his career. During his tenure, all three teams held winning records. His career winning percentage is .624 as a general manager. During his career he earned the Executive of the Year Award a record six times. He is easily one of the most successful and identifiable managers in NFL history and perhaps one of the most scrutinized as well. But detractors be damned, he is a Hall of Famer.

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Bill Polian was GM for the Buffalo Bills (69-42) from 1986 to 1992. His time in Buffalo included three straight Super Bowl appearances from 1990-92 under the coaching of Hall of Famers, coach Marv Levy and quarterback Jim Kelly. He took on the role of creator when he became in charge of the Carolina Panthers during the NFL expansion in 1995 through 1997. In two season, Polian molded a roster of undrafted free agents, draft picks and expansion draft selections into a Super Bowl semi-finalist in 1996. The Panthers went 7-9 in their first season and 12-4 in their second season with Kerry Collins at quarterback.

During Polian’s third season in Carolina, Colts owner Jim Irsay picked up the phone and made a trade with Panthers owner Jerry Richardson acquiring Bill Polian for a third round pick.

Zac Keefer of the Indianapolis Star detailed the late season transaction:

"In December 1997, Irsay found himself looking for a new general manager. He called Panthers owner Jerry Richardson and told him to name his price.Irsay and Polian had known each other for a decade: Both were handpicked by former commissioner Pete Rozelle for the NFL Management Council that ironed out the league’s new salary cap in the 1980s. So after Richardson asked for a third-round pick, Irsay jumped at the chance.“Didn’t even have to interview him,” he says.More from Indianapolis ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts Have a Brutal Road Schedule in 2019Who Could the Indianapolis Colts Target in Free Agency?Here is Where the Colts Will Pick in the First Round of the NFL DraftWhat’s Next For the Indianapolis Colts?Hey Kansas City, the Indianapolis Colts are Coming"

Before Bill Polian arrived in Indianapolis the Colts had only 5 winning seasons (above .500) in their previous 14 at West 56th Street. The 1997 season was an unexpected and turbulent season for the Colts. Indianapolis. HeadingQuaterback Jim Harbaugh had led the Colts to back-to-back playoff appearances including the legendary 1995 AFC Championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Lindy Infante was heading into his second season as head coach of the Colts after taking over the reigns from former coach Ted Marchibroda. Polian came to Indianapolis that December facing a 3-13 team trending in the wrong direction.

The success of the Indianapolis Colts under the leadership of Bill Polian is well-known around the NFL. But one must consider the fact that all that success began with his first major move in reshaping the team. Polian had a choice in the 1998 draft of selecting either Peyton Manning or Ryan Leaf with the #1 pick. Looking back  on the choice it looks like a no-brainer. However, anyone who remembers that draft will tell you it was just as hyped of a competition between the two quarterbacks as was the RG3 vs. Andrew Luck debate in the 2012 draft.

Bill Polian told Keefer, “Still, I often joke that if I had picked Ryan Leaf, I’d be parking cars at Lucas Oil Stadium.”

Brent Sobieski of Bleacher Report wrote on the choice Bill Polian faced before the 1998 NFL Draft:

"While Polian was leaning toward Manning at the time, it took one final meeting with the quarterback to solidify the decision.“I just want to leave you with this one thought,” he told Polian, per Keefer. “If you draft me, I promise we’ll win a championship. And if you don’t, I promise I will come back and kick your ass.”Polian admitted once his career as a general manger was finished, “After Peyton said that in my office that day, I told myself, ‘There’s the exclamation point. That proves exactly what we believed about him. But you have to remember, no one would have predicted Peyton was going to have a Hall of Fame career. No one would have predicted the difficult time Ryan had.”"

That one decision altered the future football around the state of Indiana. From 1998 to 2009 – with Polian in charge and Peyton Manning at the helm -*the Indianapolis Colts had only two losing seasons in 12 seasons. During that same span, the Colts were 131-61 a .682 winning percentage.

Peyton Manning was in attendance for the 2015 NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement in support of Bill Polian. During his acceptance speech Polian thanked Manning for his service and joked:

"“Of course No. 18, Peyton Manning,” Polian said. “If you keep playing, I may not be around for your introduction. But wherever I am, I’ll be thrilled and proud. There’s a mural on top of the entrance to Lucas Oil Stadium depicting scenes from our Super Bowl season. It says simply, ‘Lucas Oil Stadium,’ built by champions. Yes, you are.”"

Before Polian’s arrival in Indianapolis the team followed behind college basketball, pro basketball and auto racing in fan support. Before they never had a real reason to support the Colts. Polian sought to change that and did so with a remarkable 14 year tenure in Indianapolis.

So Colts fans, whether you loved Bill Polian or hated him, we must ALL thank him for making football relevant in Indiana and making Indianapolis relevant in the NFL.

In short, Congratulations Mr. Polian and thank you for your service to the city of Indianapolis, the state of Indiana and to Indianapolis Colts fans everywhere.

*All statistical information was resourced from pro-football-reference.com

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