BillsVet Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 A caller questioned the reaction players have when front office moves are made. Transactions like firing a GM, trading players, et al. The idea was, what does a QB think about players such as Peters being traded when their fate depends on guys like the LT. Or when a well-respected executive is fired seemingly out of the blue I can't directly quote TT, but he said there were lots of players teed off in 93 when it happened. They loved and feared Polian, who he added, still maintains a house in the area. I don't want to get hopes up, especially on TBD, but he said BP loves WNY. Now, I don't expect, nor should anyone look for Polian to arrive anytime soon. I just found it interesting that the players loved the man and could not understand why he was let go. It shouldn't surprise anyone really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ennjay Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Why did Ralph fire Polian? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlackMamba Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 On February 4, 1993, after the Bills had appeared in their 3rd straight Super Bowl, Bill Polian was fired as general manager. Polian wasn't fired because he wasn't doing a good job, he was fired because he didn't get along with treasurer, Jeff Littmann, for reasons unknown to all except those close to owner Ralph Wilson, Littmann and Polian himself. In his closing press conference, Bill Polian said of the team that he built, "They're a very special group of men. Cherish them, you will not see their like again." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Polian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfan89 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Why did Ralph fire Polian? No one really knows why. There are many rumors out there I think one was he wasn't getting along with Ralph's daughter. It was clearly a personal reason even Ralph has stated that it wasn't because of his job performance. Either way Polian was one of the major reasons for the dynasty of the late 80's early 90's and his absence is a major reason for the last 10 years of dreadfulness. Polian built the expansion Panthers into a team that was one game away from the Super Bowl and has taken the Colts and made them into one of the class franchises in the NFL for over a decade (Including a Super Bowl win). Its been talked about way too much why this team has missed Polian but yeah no one really knows for sure why he was fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 I've always wondered the same thing.......Why did this happen?..........In the fall of '92, I was flying to Boston for the Bills-Pats game...........Our flight was really delayed and I saw Bill Polian sitting (he had missed the team flight because he was scouting), so I sat next to him, and eventually struck up a conversation. I figured no way he would want to talk about football since that's what he does all day. We ended up talking about football for at least an hour. It was awesome. He told me some great stuff (interesting that this is when Marshall Faulk was at SD State, and he sees his name in the paper and goes - THIS GUY is the real deal! He sure was right, but I found it funny that when he got to the Colts, he traded him). Anyway, after quite a while, I happen to see Ralph Wilson going up to another counter. He was flying back to Detroit or something before flying to Boston. I say to BP "Hey, there's your boss." And, Bill jumped right up, and ran over to the counter and made sure everything was running smooth and that Mr. Wilson, as I believe he was calling him, had no issues.........It seemed odd to me that he felt the need to jump so fast, esp. since I'm sure there were no issues going on with Ralph, and BP had just built a dynasty, so I saw no issues with his job security...........But, then a few months later, he was fired! It floored me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 On February 4, 1993, after the Bills had appeared in their 3rd straight Super Bowl, Bill Polian was fired as general manager. Polian wasn't fired because he wasn't doing a good job, he was fired because he didn't get along with treasurer, Jeff Littmann, for reasons unknown to all except those close to owner Ralph Wilson, Littmann and Polian himself. In his closing press conference, Bill Polian said of the team that he built, "They're a very special group of men. Cherish them, you will not see their like again." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Polian BlackMamba, There is no secret about the primary reason for Bill Polian being fired. Polian and Littmann were constantly battling over the roster and payroll. Polian battled for upgrading the roster and Littman battled to keep the costs down. Polian is a street tough profane Irsihman. He is a strongwilled competitor who desires to win. Littmann's primary focus was to act on behalf of Ralph's financial interests. He was not afraid to do battle with Polian when it came to money. The owner sided with LIttman. Polian was let go. There are a lot of fanciful views that Polian was let go because he was abusive towards Ralph's daughter, who was a scout in the organization. I wouldn't doubt the profane Polian throwing curses in her direction. But anyone who knows anything about Polian knows that is how he behaved toward everybody. I remember him cursing on the radio about fans who were not loyal to the Bills. Polian is a HOF GM. He is who he is. Ralph is who he is. Money is everything to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahbonas Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 And we can go down the list why his actions forced GM John Butler and AJ Smith and entire scouting crew to leave to San Diego.... Gee what qualifications do you think Ralph's daughter had? What do you think Polian and the like felt about having to hear her opinion? Last decade San Diego and Colts have been model franchises...Ralph's Bills have simply returned to what they were prior to the Polian era The winning era provided by Polian/Butler was the exception not the rule for Ralph's teams... And this old man is in the HOF ?? And if he is in the HOF because he sticks up for small franchises and no franchise relocations...they why doesnt he unveil his plan to this small market how he has secured the Bills to stay in this area for a long time??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatdrinks Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Why did Ralph fire Polian? Look, it's a known fact in media circles in WNY that Ralph fired Bill Polian for some comments BP made to Linda Bogdan (Ralph's deceased daughter who was a scout at the time) BP felt LB was overstepping in her lobbying for a player in the 1992 draft. BP supposedly lashed out at LB verbally, dropping the "C" word. This got back to Ralph, and the decision was made PRIOR to the 1992 SB season that Polian was out. BP pleaded with Ralph to hang on with the Bills for the season, but would be replaced after. Ralph agreed. That was a mistake as well, as FA was set to begin for the 1st time in 1993. Will Wolford's deal was set to expire, and WW strongly desired to stay with the Bills. His agent, Tom Condon tried contacting BP multiple times over the course of the season. BP did not return his calls. Wolford left the Bills and so began the dismantling of one of the elite offensive lines of the era. Not surprisingly, the Bills returned to just one Superbowl post Polian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahbonas Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Look, it's a known fact in media circles in WNY that Ralph fired Bill Polian for some comments BP made to Linda Bogdan (Ralph's deceased daughter who was a scout at the time) BP felt LB was overstepping in her lobbying for a player in the 1992 draft. BP supposedly lashed out at LB verbally, dropping the "C" word. This got back to Ralph, and the decision was made PRIOR to the 1992 SB season that Polian was out. BP pleaded with Ralph to hang on with the Bills for the season, but would be replaced after. Ralph agreed. That was a mistake as well, as FA was set to begin for the 1st time in 1993. Will Wolford's deal was set to expire, and WW strongly desired to stay with the Bills. His agent, Tom Condon tried contacting BP multiple times over the course of the season. BP did not return his calls. Wolford left the Bills and so began the dismantling of one of the elite offensive lines of the era. Not surprisingly, the Bills returned to just one Superbowl post Polian. Bill Polian never "would not return Tom Condon's calls...thats bull ****"....what was true...and rings very ture to history...is Polian wanted to lock Wilford up before his contract expired....Ralph and Littman wished to let the contract play out and see what happens in free agency....Ralph (that f%%$ idiot) gets screwed by a slick move by the Colts who offered Wilford a contract the Bills could not match....and Ralph & Littman BEGGED the NFL to let them pay Wilford and keep him....but the NFL awarded Wilfords contract to Colts....POLIAN was right all along....and the same bumbling idiots who blewoff Rashad and Cousineau & Cribbs now lost Will Wolford at a critical time.... The loss of Wilford hurt the Bills just enough where we went from being 7 pt favorites in Superbowl to being decided underdog..... I also asked Polian and he mentioned Littman killed a deal that would have sent DT Pierce Holt to Buffalo.... No Wilford...no Pierce Holt....no superbowl....but ralph can count his $$$$$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 If Bill Polian had been allowed to stay, there is no doubt in my mind that we would have had continued success and the last 16 years would have been very different -- especially the past 9 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Wait ... are you guys saying the Ralph Wilson made a poor personnel decision??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwksilver Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 And we can go down the list why his actions forced GM John Butler and AJ Smith and entire scouting crew to leave to San Diego....Gee what qualifications do you think Ralph's daughter had? What do you think Polian and the like felt about having to hear her opinion? Last decade San Diego and Colts have been model franchises...Ralph's Bills have simply returned to what they were prior to the Polian era The winning era provided by Polian/Butler was the exception not the rule for Ralph's teams... And this old man is in the HOF ?? And if he is in the HOF because he sticks up for small franchises and no franchise relocations...they why doesnt he unveil his plan to this small market how he has secured the Bills to stay in this area for a long time??? POST of the YEAR! with polian & butler the team is 105-55 about a win rate of 65% with out them about 40-45% Bottom feeders! Please restructure the INNER_CIRCLE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Bill Polian never "would not return Tom Condon's calls...thats bull ****"....what was true...and rings very ture to history...is Polian wanted to lock Wilford up before his contract expired....Ralph and Littman wished to let the contract play out and see what happens in free agency....Ralph (that f%%$ idiot) gets screwed by a slick move by the Colts who offered Wilford a contract the Bills could not match....and Ralph & Littman BEGGED the NFL to let them pay Wilford and keep him....but the NFL awarded Wilfords contract to Colts....POLIAN was right all along....and the same bumbling idiots who blewoff Rashad and Cousineau & Cribbs now lost Will Wolford at a critical time....The loss of Wilford hurt the Bills just enough where we went from being 7 pt favorites in Superbowl to being decided underdog..... I also asked Polian and he mentioned Littman killed a deal that would have sent DT Pierce Holt to Buffalo.... No Wilford...no Pierce Holt....no superbowl....but ralph can count his $$$$$ Hmmm....jerking around with a good player to save some coin, overplaying the hand and losing the player...hmmm....now why doesn that sound familiar??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commish95 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Being a colt fan.......Thanks....Polian will not leave until Peyton is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Philster Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 And we can go down the list why his actions forced GM John Butler and AJ Smith and entire scouting crew to leave to San Diego....Butler left because he had already planned to...he was fired with a few weeks left in his contract because he refused to negotiate a new contract with Ralph. Word is that his wife wanted to leave Buffalo long before and there were even rumors of tampering by the Chargers. AJ Smith left because he had his stuck in Butler's rearAnd this old man is in the HOF ?? And if he is in the HOF because he sticks up for small franchises and no franchise relocations...they why doesnt he unveil his plan to this small market how he has secured the Bills to stay in this area for a long time??? Read Felser's book The Birth of the New NFL You'll see a lot of why he's in the Hall of Fame Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbuk3 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Bill Polian never "would not return Tom Condon's calls...thats bull ****"....what was true...and rings very ture to history...is Polian wanted to lock Wilford up before his contract expired....Ralph and Littman wished to let the contract play out and see what happens in free agency....Ralph (that f%%$ idiot) gets screwed by a slick move by the Colts who offered Wilford a contract the Bills could not match....and Ralph & Littman BEGGED the NFL to let them pay Wilford and keep him....but the NFL awarded Wilfords contract to Colts....POLIAN was right all along....and the same bumbling idiots who blewoff Rashad and Cousineau & Cribbs now lost Will Wolford at a critical time....The loss of Wilford hurt the Bills just enough where we went from being 7 pt favorites in Superbowl to being decided underdog..... I wouldn't be too hard on them for the Cousineau screw-up. If I remember correctly it was the draft pick the Bills got from Cleveland for Cousineau that got them Jim Kelly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfreak Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Polian will never come back to the Bills as long as Ralph is the owner-write it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billsfreak Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Being a colt fan.......Thanks....Polian will not leave until Peyton is gone. I agree, but looking back it is hard to believe Peyton has already been in this league for 12 seasons. He is still probably the tops in the game, but will he start showing wear and tear anytime soon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 No one really knows why. There are many rumors out there I think one was he wasn't getting along with Ralph's daughter. It was clearly a personal reason even Ralph has stated that it wasn't because of his job performance. Either way Polian was one of the major THE reasons for the dynasty of the late 80's early 90's and his absence is a major reason for the last 10 years of dreadfulness. Polian built the expansion Panthers into a team that was one game away from the Super Bowl and has taken the Colts and made them into one of the class franchises in the NFL for over a decade (Including a Super Bowl win). Its been talked about way too much why this team has missed Polian but yeah no one really knows for sure why he was fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatdrinks Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Bill Polian never "would not return Tom Condon's calls...thats bull ****"....what was true...and rings very ture to history...is Polian wanted to lock Wilford up before his contract expired... This was told to me by a high ranking Buffalo News sports desk employee. Bill Polian was a lame duck going into 1992 season and made no effort to take care of the Wolford contract as he was disgusted with Ralph. When he was officially fired as GM after SB XXVII, Wolford and company had pretty much already decided to enter the FA market as it was only a month away. BP did a nice "sayonara" to Ralph, as did john Butler with the 2000 draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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