dollars 2 donuts Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I know there were issues with him and Ralph Wilson and I know this is a "duh" post. Dammit, though, it just swelled up in me to post it. What would some of these years have been like? Sorry I don't have more, I'm just venting. Peace to all Bills' brothers and sisters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ (not THAT RJ) Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Of all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these: "It might have been." --John Greenleaf Whittier... early Bills fan I know there were issues with him and Ralph Wilson and I know this is a "duh" post. Dammit, though, it just swelled up in me to post it. What would some of these years have been like? Sorry I don't have more, I'm just venting. Peace to all Bills' brothers and sisters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offde-fence Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 He certainly was a good personnel man, and we've missed that over the years, but, I've got to say, I like the Bills last two drafts, and as for making a team now and in the next few years, I don't think draft is the problem. I'd say it is F.A. aquisitions, and play calling. He was great, no doubt, but he only led Indy to one super bowl victory. We need a guy that can put together the right guys and the right coaching staff here, now. We'll see what this season brings. I think we're going to be a tought team. I think, too, that Buddy Nix had something to do with this last draft, which I loved. If we get those kinds of picks for another two years, our team should be young and strong moving forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewildrabbit Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I miss Bill Polian greatly, he should be going into the hall! Look at the Colts over the last ten years and think that could be buffalo had he stayed. Didn't Polian get fired from Buffalo because his brother was caught with the SB game plan, or play book or something to that effect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billistic Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I know there were issues with him and Ralph Wilson and I know this is a "duh" post. Dammit, though, it just swelled up in me to post it. What would some of these years have been like? Sorry I don't have more, I'm just venting. Peace to all Bills' brothers and sisters. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during the notorious Polian v. Linda Bogdan incident. Have you read the entry in Wikipedia? Right out of OBD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 He was great, no doubt, but he only led Indy to one super bowl victory. How great would that "one super bowl victory" been if it had belonged to the Bills? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 He certainly was a good personnel man, and we've missed that over the years, but, I've got to say, I like the Bills last two drafts, and as for making a team now and in the next few years, I don't think draft is the problem. I'd say it is F.A. aquisitions, and play calling. He was great, no doubt, but he only led Indy to one super bowl victory. We need a guy that can put together the right guys and the right coaching staff here, now. We'll see what this season brings. I think we're going to be a tought team. I think, too, that Buddy Nix had something to do with this last draft, which I loved. If we get those kinds of picks for another two years, our team should be young and strong moving forward. It's really crummy to only win one Super Bowl. Seriously, look at all the players we've acquired - draft or UFA or trade - since 1993 when Polian left. Who's the best QB? Best tackle? Center? Defensive End? Tight End? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Polian is great, no doubt. But I've got to think all the success in Indy is directly attributable to Peyton Manning. To be a great GM, you basically just have to hit on the right franchise QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VJ91 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Polian is great, no doubt. But I've got to think all the success in Indy is directly attributable to Peyton Manning. To be a great GM, you basically just have to hit on the right franchise QB. Polian drafted Manning. It was his first draft as Indy GM. The first thing he did after getting hired as Bills GM was to make contact with Kelly's people in the stupid USFL, and by his first training camp as Bill's GM later that year, Kelly was his QB in Buffalo. Even in his few years in Carolina, he drafted Kerry Collins out of Penn State to become their franchise QB. Collins led them to the NFC Championship game just two years into the Panthers' existence. Yes, it seems as though Bill Polian likes to get his QB drafted or signed within about 5 minutes of being hired as GM. Seems like Polian gets it, huh? Big John Butler didn't too as well, with his trade for Rob Johnson and signing of Doug Flutie during his years as GM. And then we had Donahoe trade for Bledsoe and draft Lost-man. So yes, I agree that if Wilson could have figured out how to co-exist with the hot tempered and passionate Polian, there is no way we would be looking forward to our 10th year of Bills' football without having made the playoffs!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billistic Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Polian drafted Manning. It was his first draft as Indy GM. The first thing he did after getting hired as Bills GM was to make contact with Kelly's people in the stupid USFL, and by his first training camp as Bill's GM later that year, Kelly was his QB in Buffalo. Even in his few years in Carolina, he drafted Kerry Collins out of Penn State to become their franchise QB. Collins led them to the NFC Championship game just two years into the Panthers' existence. Yes, it seems as though Bill Polian likes to get his QB drafted or signed within about 5 minutes of being hired as GM. Seems like Polian gets it, huh? Big John Butler didn't too as well, with his trade for Rob Johnson and signing of Doug Flutie during his years as GM. And then we had Donahoe trade for Bledsoe and draft Lost-man. So yes, I agree that if Wilson could have figured out how to co-exist with the hot tempered and passionate Polian, there is no way we would be looking forward to our 10th year of Bills' football without having made the playoffs!! Please...rub more salt into my wounds... How about the Second Coming of Marv? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 How great would that "one super bowl victory" been if it had belonged to the Bills? If only the Bills had faced a pretender like the Bears in any of the SB's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIE HARD 1967 Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 You got to wonder who would be head coach right now if he was still here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dante Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Polian drafted Manning. It was his first draft as Indy GM. The first thing he did after getting hired as Bills GM was to make contact with Kelly's people in the stupid USFL, and by his first training camp as Bill's GM later that year, Kelly was his QB in Buffalo. Even in his few years in Carolina, he drafted Kerry Collins out of Penn State to become their franchise QB. Collins led them to the NFC Championship game just two years into the Panthers' existence. Yes, it seems as though Bill Polian likes to get his QB drafted or signed within about 5 minutes of being hired as GM. Seems like Polian gets it, huh? Big John Butler didn't too as well, with his trade for Rob Johnson and signing of Doug Flutie during his years as GM. And then we had Donahoe trade for Bledsoe and draft Lost-man. So yes, I agree that if Wilson could have figured out how to co-exist with the hot tempered and passionate Polian, there is no way we would be looking forward to our 10th year of Bills' football without having made the playoffs!! heh..nicely done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 You got to wonder who would be head coach right now if he was still here. Who has he hired with his other teams? Dom Capers with the Panthers, Jim Mora and Tony Dungy with Indy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 He was great, no doubt, but he only led Indy to one super bowl victory. As another poster pointed out, he was the architect of the Carolina team which made the NFC Championship Game in their second season. Didn't Polian get fired from Buffalo because his brother was caught with the SB game plan, or play book or something to that effect? There's several rumors floating around as to why Polian was fired and perhaps Lori, or someone who knows better could shed light on this. I had heard two other rumors: 1) He insulted Ralph's late daughter, Linda Bogdan by hurling a sexist epithet at her. 2) He threatened to kick Jeff Littman's ass (The Bills' Treasurer). From Wiki: "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." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollars 2 donuts Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 As another poster pointed out, he was the architect of the Carolina team which made the NFC Championship Game in their second season. There's several rumors floating around as to why Polian was fired and perhaps Lori, or someone who knows better could shed light on this. I had heard two other rumors: 1) He insulted Ralph's late daughter, Linda Bogdan by hurling a sexist epithet at her. 2) He threatened to kick Jeff Littman's ass (The Bills' Treasurer). From Wiki: "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." San Jose, I have nothing more concrete here. I just always heard that he was generally unruly with the staff, creaming at them rudely, and such. Edit: a better word might be abrasive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 As another poster pointed out, he was the architect of the Carolina team which made the NFC Championship Game in their second season. There's several rumors floating around as to why Polian was fired and perhaps Lori, or someone who knows better could shed light on this. I had heard two other rumors: 1) He insulted Ralph's late daughter, Linda Bogdan by hurling a sexist epithet at her. 2) He threatened to kick Jeff Littman's ass (The Bills' Treasurer). From Wiki: "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." The main issue had to do with him constantly going to war with the finance people (Littmann) in the organization who wanted to keep a tight reign on the money (roster payroll). That conflicted with Polian's intenisty to construct the best roster he was able to. There was a long term tension between those competing goals and factions. Littman's primary concern was to act in the best money $$ interest of his boss, Ralph Wilson. That was the fundamental reason why Polian got sacked. With respect to the conflict with Wilson's daughter there were some problems between her and Polian. The daddy owner, Wilson, placed his daughter on the payroll. She worked in the scouting department. Without a doubt Wild Bill Polian was very dismissive of her and her scouting talents. Daddy was not going to tolerate an employee of his to treating his daughter in a discourteous manner. Over the past ten years the Colts under the leadership of Polian have gone to the playoffs nine times, with a SB trophy on their mantle. Over the past nine years the Bills have not made the playoffs. Under the direction of Polian the Bills went to the SB four consecutive years. That was an unprecedented feat which will probably never be matched. Without a doubt the firing of Bill Polian by the owner changed the course of the franchise. Certainly, not for the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 .....but he only led Indy to one super bowl victory. ........ ONLY??? I love to say that about any coach/GM/owner/player/waterboy/janitor/snack vendor when talking of a bills superbowl win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpcolosi Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I know there were issues with him and Ralph Wilson and I know this is a "duh" post. Dammit, though, it just swelled up in me to post it. What would some of these years have been like? Sorry I don't have more, I'm just venting. Peace to all Bills' brothers and sisters. um ya... polian, butler, aj smith. any of them and we'd be so much better off. i love ralph and all, but c'mon. this team was legit with the hiring of Polian, those guys came from his lineage and he has an insane ability to rate talent. granted he has only one SB win and had a world class QB at buffalo and indy, but the guy is a HOF no doubt about it. oh well... lets hope brandon learns well on the job!!!! (ok totally kidding there) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Polian is great, no doubt. But I've got to think all the success in Indy is directly attributable to Peyton Manning. To be a great GM, you basically just have to hit on the right franchise QB. It definitely makes it easy to build franchises twice having the #1 pick and getting Peyton Manning & Bruce Smith. Additionally, he got multiple top 5 picks with the Panthers. Polian is great no doubt but he's been really lucky too. The problem with the Bills is they are always average and never hit complete rock bottom. You don't get Manning and Bruce with picks from 11 to 20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 It definitely makes it easy to build franchises twice having the #1 pick and getting Peyton Manning & Bruce Smith. Additionally, he got multiple top 5 picks with the Panthers. Polian is great no doubt but he's been really lucky too. The problem with the Bills is they are always average and never hit complete rock bottom. You don't get Manning and Bruce with picks from 11 to 20. That’s a big statement about the ease in building a franchise, based on draft position. Manning has been great, but IMO he was not the difference maker for the colts their superbowl year. In fact i remember being a little surprised how their D and running game stepped it up in the post season and I believe Bruce sat out a large chunk of the season during the bills first sb run As another discussion point: The Steelers are the team that comes to mind as the model team that has been consistently average or above average, and then has some superbowl runs strung together in between, without the benefit of a #1 Draft pick kind of year.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 That’s a big statement about the ease in building a franchise, based on draft position. Manning has been great, but IMO he was not the difference maker for the colts their superbowl year. In fact i remember being a little surprised how their D and running game stepped it up in the post season and I believe Bruce sat out a large chunk of the season during the bills first sb run As another discussion point: The Steelers are the team that comes to mind as the model team that has been consistently average or above average, and then has some superbowl runs strung together in between, without the benefit of a #1 Draft pick kind of year.... I agree about Manning getting carried to the Super Bowl win but without him and say JP Losman, are they in the playoffs to get carried? Polian got to pick #1 twice with HOF talent on the board at the 2 most important positions in football IMO. Does anyone think we are sitting on a 9 year playoff drought if we had Manning??? And IMO, the Steelers are the model franchise because they can keep changing parts and be successful. But Big Ben is a franchise QB and their defensive system (and coordinator who should be in the HOF) is the best in the business. If you have these 2 qualities, you will always be successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOR Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Maybe instead we should be pining for the Steelers' GM, Kevin Colbert? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyDingo Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 You damn ingrates had the opportunity to lock up Tom Donahoe long-term and let him slip through your fingers! You get what you deserve! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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