Football’s Greatest Architect?

Bill Polian, the man behind the “modern” Colts, deserves a good reflection from time to time. This is one of those times, coming off a Super Bowl win and going into a season he (and the rest of Colts-dom) hopes ends up the same way

Polian came to the Colts on December 22, 1997, after a dismal Colts season record of 3-13. He immediately chose not to re-sign veteran (fan favorite) Jim “Comeback Kid” Harbaugh, who just two years earlier led the Colts to the AFC Championship game (who can forget the Hail Mary pass at the end!). It was a risky move that brought him heat from Indy fans, but it paid off astronomically.

Polian’s always had a magic touch at building teams from the ground up. From 1986-1993, Polian, with the Buffalo Bills, was instrumental in acquiring Bruce Smith, Jim Kelly, Marv Levy, Nate Odomes and Cornelius Bennett who led the once back-to-back 2-14 Bills to four straight Super Bowls.

He then set his sights on the expansion teams, namely the Carolina Panthers. His goal: build the fastest Super Bowl-winning team in NFL history. In just their second year in existence, 1996, the Panthers made it to the NFC Championship game, but lost.

The Colts took an interest in the ultimate architect of a winning football team and hired him as President of the franchise, which leads us back to him denying Harbaugh in 1997.

Polian took his No. 1 overall draft pick in 1998 to choose a quarterback. The two leaders were Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning. Both touted as great collegiate stars, and Leaf seemed to have an edge on Manning. But Polian chose Manning.
Then he set off to build the offense around his new QB, resulting in another unpopular choice: getting rid of Marshall Faulk. With the 4th overall pick in the next draft, the hyped up choice was RB Ricky Williams, but Polian threw another curveball and chose Edgerrin James. James went on to win rushing titles, while Williams left the NFL altogether.

Colts fans, by 2000, it was time to focus on the defense. Instead, Polian chose to burn his first pick on WR Reggie Wayne and his 4th round pick on lineman Ryan Diem.

Now, in 2002, it was time to work on the defense. He fired Coach Jim Mora and took Tony Dungy from Tampa Bay. And in fashion, Polian ticked off more fans by choosing a smaller and weaker DE. Dwight Freeney, however, needs no introduction. In the next draft, Polian chose Robert Mathis and Cato June, both impact players and Pro Bowl potential. In 2004, Polian chose an injured SS Bob Sanders. In Sanders’ first full season after recovering, he was a Pro Bowl selection and ranked as one of the hardest hitters in the league.

In the next seemingly insane move, Polian passed up an opportunity to re-sign James in 2005 and released him. In the draft, as is Polian’s m.o., he shocked the NFL world yet again. Passing up Reggie Bush, Laurence Maroney and DeAngelo Williams, Polian chose solid, but not spectacular, Joseph Addai who led the league’s rookie rushers without a single regular season start.

Tackle Tarik Glenn and WR Marvin Harrison are the only players not acquired by Bill Polian in his decade-plus with the Indianapolis Colts.

This year’s draft, Polian’s genius, is yet to be seen. Here’s who he drafted:

WR Anthony Gonzalez (Ohio State) – 1st/32nd
OT Tony Ugoh (Arkansas) – 2nd/42nd
CB Daymeion Hughes (California) – 3rd/95th
DT Quinn Pitcock (Ohio State) – 3rd/98th
S Brannon Condren (Troy State) – 4th/131st
OLB Clint Session (Pitt) – 4th/136th
WR Roy Hall (Ohio State) – 5th/169th
CB Michael Coe (Alabama State) – 5th/173rd
DE Keyunta Dawson (Texas Tech) – 7th/242nd

So, it’ll be interesting to see how his newbies perform and grow.