For Buffalo Bills fans this offseason has already been a memorable one with the signings of defensive ends Mario Williams and Mark Anderson, along with the drafting of offensive tackle Cordy Glenn in the second round, which is the first in the first two rounds since Mike Williams was taken fourth overall in 2002. To keep the momentum going, the Bills have announced that former general manager Bill Polian will be inducted to the Bills Wall of Fame.
The reason that this is historic is because of how Polian left the franchise. After the conclusion of the Bills third straight Super Bowl appearance, Polian was fired by owner Ralph Wilson on February 4th, 1993. The reasons aren’t exactly clear, but what is clear is that there was friction between Polian and the rest of the front office, which he admitted to.
“I could have done a better job of functioning within the organization,” Polian said. “I didn’t. I was so focused on winning and so focused on trying to do the very best job I could do for the team. I wasn’t as polished nor perhaps took as wide a view as I should have. And I learned from it. You learn from your mistakes in every phase of life. … I know I was better for the experience.”
To really truly understand how much friction there was you need to understand the two individuals. So, here is a passage from Buffalo News Mark Gaughan’s article on the induction describing Polian:
Polian also operated with a feisty, two-fisted intensity during his Bills tenure. He famously challenged fans to “get out of town” if they didn’t want to back Kelly (Bills Hall of fame quarterback Jim Kelly). Wilson’s displeasure with Polian’s combativeness ultimately led to his dismissal, a move that some fans rue to this day.
As for Wilson, well let’s just say he isn’t the type of person to let things go. The best evidence of this is the fact that former Bills head coach Lou Saban, who lead the team to two AFL Championships in 1964 and 1965, isn’t on the Wall of Fame.
Saban served as head coach for the Bills two times from 1962-1965 and 1972-1976. Both times Saban just upped and quit with the second time infuriating Wilson so much that sill to this day Saban isn’t on the Wall of Fame. The sad part is that if Saban does go up it will only be his surviving family attending as Saban died in March of 2009.
So, that means somewhere down the line Wilson and Polian mended fences. One possibility is when Wilson was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Polian was there for all the Bills who were inducted into the HOF from the four consecutive Superbowl teams as the players from those teams hold a special place in his heart.
“The fact that we were such a mentally tough, resilient team,” Polian said. “And that these guys turned out, even as the years went on and their careers ended, to be such great people, such quality people. And they remain so close over time. This was a special group, and I’m proud to be a part of it, and I’m proud of what they’ve accomplished both on the field and off.”
