I wonder if this is because of his commitment to take Andre Luck... Could the Colts plan on trading the pick and make one last run with Manning, while developing a QB (drafted in the 2nd or 3rd round)? Interesting though.
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It has more to do with the fact that outside of Manning, Edge, Harrison, Wayne, Saturday and maybe MAYBE Bob Sanders, Polian's draft record(in Indy) has been nothing special, and the fact that the Colts nearly went winless attests to the fact that he never truly built a team around Manning and failed to have a back up plan.
unluckyluciano, Clipse, Trowa and 2 others like this. -
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I've been saying since week 5 how losing Manning exposed the Colts organization as a paper tiger unworthy of being mentioned with the Steelers, Packers etc as organizations who really get it. Polian & Son have failed to stock the cupboard for about 5 years now and it finally came to light once they didn't have the arguably GOAT QB to hide their weaknesses.
As far as Luck goes, I think the housecleaning upstairs is only foreshadowing a housecleaning of the coaching staff and players as well, who were all exposed. I think there is a better than 50% chance Peyton plays for another team next year if he is able to play at all. -
I forgot to mention Dwight Freeney.
Still the point remains. -
Everyone can say what they will about Bill Polian, but this is the same man who was the architect for...
-The Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers, both CFL Grey Cup Champions
-The Buffalo Bills, luring Jim Kelly from the USFL and hiring Marv Levy, resulting in four consecutive Super Bowl appearances, a first ever in the NFL
-The Carolina Panthers, creating the fastest Super Bowl winning team in NFL history and apppeared in the NFC Championship in only its second year in the league
-The Indianapolis Colts and having the foresight to draft Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf, turning a 3-13 team into a perinneal playoff team and Super Bowl Champion
The firing of Bill Polian, putting it in a military analogy would be the same as firing a Battalion Commander because a Platoon Sergeant failed to prepare his men. If anyone in Indianapolis should have been fired, it should have been Jim Caldwell. He's been the coach of the Colts for 3 seasons, including a Super Bowl Championship and had AMPLE time to ensure Curtis Painter was prepared should the unspeakable happen in Peyton Manning going out for the season...an implied task of an NFL Head Coach in which he failed MISERABLY.
I certainly hope Stephen Ross has the intelligence and saavy to hire Bill Polian and allow him to create yet ANOTHER champion in Miami.jw3102 likes this. -
Polian has not put together a complete team since the 90s.
7 notable players in over 10 years do not make up a team, its the reason why he was fired.
He failed to build around Manning. -
Besides the Manning injury, I think the Colts failures this season had much more to do with dimwitted Jim Caldwell than Bill Polian. This is shocking news to me. I'd much rather have Polian than Ireland.
jw3102 and The_Dark_Knight like this. -
I bet their new GM will draft Luck and tell Peyton to take a paycut to play for the Colts. If he refuses they will cut and part ways. I'm sure Irsay will make a generous offer to Peyton. Heck Peyton just got paid millions from Irsay without playing 1 freaking snap in 2011. I don't think money will be an issue here. Peyton seems like a reasonable person. I doubt he wants to be viewed as "stealing" Irsay's $$. For the record....The Colts will draft Luck and have Peyton playing for them next season.
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Polian is overrated. He built a 2-14 football team. Ireland's drafts have been MUCH better than anything Polian has done for the last three years. Ireland did not have the good fortune of Peyton Manning being on his roster. A franchise quarterback can hide a lot of ills, just ask Don Shula. -
One of the greatest QB's ever and not many Super Bowls and just one win. Similar to what happened to Dan Marino here. -
Name me a general manager that built 5 championship teams in two different leagues. Montreal, Winnipeg, Buffalo, Carolina, Indianapolis. The only team he built that didn't win a championship was Buffalo, but 4 consecutive Super Bowl appearances in itself speaks volumes for what Polian did in Buffalo.
And Polian didn't build a 2-14 team...Caldwell coached a previous playoff team and the year before that, a previous Super Bowl appearing team to 2-14.
This isn't revisionist history...it's FACT. -
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If I were Indy, I"d be shopping that Luck pick, perhaps in a strategy to save a bit of cap and end up with RG3. Somehow, I don't see Manning (who will be there) and Luck being a promising pairing. Too much ego there essentially. At the same time, they really need a successor because I see 2013 being Manning's last year (I see him sucking next year and trying it one more time).
I agree Polian deserved to go. I am a bit surprised Norv Turner still has a job at the close of the night, though. -
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Here are the Colts last 5 drafts. They speak for themselves.
2011 - Indianapolis Colts
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
1 22 Anthony Castonzo T Boston College
2 49 Ben Ijalana T Villanova
3 87 Drake Nevis DT LSU
4 119 Delone Carter RB Syracuse
6 188 Chris Rucker DB Michigan State
2010 - Indianapolis Colts
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
1 31 Jerry Hughes DE Texas Christian
2 63 Pat Angerer OLB Iowa
3 94 Kevin Thomas DB USC
4 129 Jacques McClendon G Tennessee
5 162 Brody Eldridge TE Oklahoma
7 238 Ricardo Mathews DE Cincinnati
7 240 Kavell Conner OLB Clemson
7 246 Ray Fisher DB Indiana
2009 - Indianapolis Colts
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
1 27 Donald Brown RB Connecticut
2 56 Fili Moala DT USC
3 92 Jerraud Powers DB Auburn
4 127 Austin Collie WR Brigham Young
4 136 Terrance Taylor DT Michigan
6 201 Curtis Painter QB Purdue
7 222 Pat McAfee P West Virginia
7 236 Jaimie Thomas G Maryland
2008 - Indianapolis Colts
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
2 59 Mike Pollak G Arizona State
3 93 Philip Wheeler OLB Georgia Tech
4 127 Jacob Tamme TE Kentucky
5 161 Marcus Howard DE Georgia
6 196 Tom Santi TE Virginia
6 201 Steve Justice C Wake Forest
6 202 Mike Hart RB Michigan
6 205 Pierre Garcon WR Mount Union
7 236 Jamey Richard C Buffalo
2007 - Indianapolis Colts
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
1 32 Anthony Gonzalez WR Ohio State
2 42 Tony Ugoh T Arkansas
3 95 Dante Hughes CB California
3 98 Quinn Pitcock DT Ohio State
4 131 Brannon Condren DB Troy State
4 136 Clint Session LB Pittsburgh
5 169 Roy Hall WR Ohio State
5 173 Michael Coe CB Alabama State
7 242 Keyunta Dawsonunluckyluciano likes this. -
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Bear in mind that Polian really set Carolina back by trying to win it all in one year.
The egomaniac explicitly said that was his goal. -
Word around Indy is Irsay has been uneasy about the drafting the last couple of yrs and was not happy that the defensive unit was being ignored year after year in favor of more weapons for Manning. Ultimately his undoing was the man of steel "Manning" who never gets hurt getting hurt. You cant build your team around one man.
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The_Dark_Knight likes this.
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I asked a buddy who is a big Colts fan about the Polian thing. Take it how you will.
Here is his response......
Ya know... I think it was largely based upon the fact Bill Polian was in the process of stepping back and allowing his son Chris to take over. Chris has pretty much been in the capacity of GM for the last couple years, and supposedly the last draft was pretty much his baby.
Apparently Chris has ruffled some feathers in the complex and I believe Irsay didn't have confidence in him in the capacity of overseeing all operations of the team going forward. Bill Polian has become somewhat more combative and defensive as time has gone by and has kind of put the Indianapolis press at arm's length ever since the decision was made to pull the starters against the Jets in '09 (and thus kill the perfect season). (Although he did call into 1070 the fan the Friday after the Thursday Houston game and answered every hard question the host presented to him. I had a lot of respect for him not ducking the tough questions.)
Maybe Irsay had suggested to Bill that he retire, but that he was going to fire Chris and that didn't sit well with Bill. I'm not sure.
I've got mixed feelings about the whole matter. People of Polian's caliber with talent evaluation are very hard to find. But his combative nature (and just handing the reigns over to his kid) have rubbed me the wrong way as well. I don't have a lot of confidence in Jim Caldwell as a coach when it comes to game management and having his team ready to play, and I think Polian felt that Caldwell is the type to not rock the boat. I think Polian was making the decisions on who started and who didn't on Sundays (ie Curtis Painter over Dan Orlovsky). And why Justin Tryon was ever let go this year is totally beyond me.
Bill Polian is going to be difficult to replace, and with his track record, he should be a future hall of famer (4 time executive of the year and all). But I think it was time to move on. (I know...be careful what you wish for...)