Bill Polian then served as general manager and team president of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League from 1998 to 2011, where they reached two Super Bowls, winning XLI.
23 Facts About Bill Polian
2.
Bill Polian subsequently served as an NFL analyst for ESPN.
3.
Bill Polian was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
4.
Bill Polian co-founded the now-defunct Alliance of American Football in 2018.
5.
Bill Polian grew up in the Fordham section of the Bronx in New York City and graduated from Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1960.
6.
Bill Polian attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy and graduated from New York University in 1964 with a history degree.
7.
At NYU, Bill Polian played at safety for the NYU Violets football club team.
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Peyton Manning 8.
Bill Polian lived in Cornwall, New York from 1977 to 1983.
9.
Bill Polian began his career in professional football as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1978, leaving the team in 1982 and joining the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League, as personnel director in 1983.
10.
The Blitz shut down in 1984, and Bill Polian moved to the Canadian Football League, where he assembled Grey Cup winning teams with the Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
11.
Bill Polian was instrumental in the signing of Bruce Smith to his first NFL contract, after which he was promoted to GM in 1985.
12.
In 2012, Polian became the 28th inductee into the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame.
13.
Bill Polian was General Manager of the Carolina Panthers from 1995 to 1997.
14.
Bill Polian 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.
15.
In 1998, Bill Polian was hired as President and decided to build through the draft as the Indianapolis Colts would have the number 1 overall pick for 1998; the Colts picked Peyton Manning.
16.
Bill Polian stepped down as general manager in 2009, being succeeded by his son Chris, but remained with the team as president and vice-chairman.
17.
In 2006, according to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, Bill Polian reportedly shoved a New York Jets employee by pinning him against a wall, for placing speakers too close to the field during warmups.
18.
On January 31,2015, it was announced that Bill Polian had been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
19.
On January 1,2017, Bill Polian became the 13th inductee into the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor.
20.
In March 2018, Bill Polian announced the creation of an off-season professional football league, called the Alliance of American Football, which he co-founded with Charlie Ebersol.
21.
In January 2022, the Chicago Bears brought in Bill Polian to help lead their search for a new head coach and general manager.
22.
Bill Polian is married to Eileen and has four kids: Lynn, Chris, Brian, and Dennis.
23.
Bill Polian has nine grandkids: Annie, William, Jack, Caroline, Kate, Aidan, Charlotte, Finn, and Millie.