By Joshua Svetz
Six-time NFL executive of the year Bill Polian is finally getting the credit he deserves, as he will soon be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August.
As the former general manager of the Buffalo Bills from 1985-1993, Polian helped build a team that appeared in four straight Super Bowls.
In an NFL media conference call, Polian offered his take on what he considers to be one of his best accomplishments in his career. When asked by Sal Capaccio of WGR 550 radio about the great 1990s Bills, he said he never thought we would see a team like that in the NFL again.
“(Those Bills were) an incredible array of talent. I was very fortunate to have been surrounded by them,” Polian said. “I said at the time I left to cherish them, because you won’t see their like again.”
Polian opened up a bit about the landscape of the NFL at the time when he left the Bills in 1993.
“I wasn’t pressured (out), but I just realized that with the new landscape that was coming in professional football, with the advent of free agency and the salary cap, that it was unlikely that there would ever be another team that was as good top to bottom as our team was, as the Cowboys of that era were, and (as) the 49ers, who kind of bridged both eras, (80s and 90s) who Bill Walsh really put together before the salary cap.”
Polian described some of the best teams in NFL history. The Cowboys won three Super Bowls in that era, beating the Bills in back-to-back championship games. Walsh’s 49ers won three Super Bowls in the eighties before head coach George Seifert took over and guided them to two more championships in the 1989 and 1994 seasons.
Of course, the 1990s Bills are the team Polian helped build, and he won’t soon forget them.
“That’s a very unique team in football history, because it’ll be very difficult unless there is a major change in the labor situation and the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to put together a complete team like (that team was).”
Due to the restrictions of the CBA and labor situations it is extremely unlikely that we will see a team like the 90s Bills again.
Despite that, fans can take solace in knowing that even after Polian’s successful stints with the Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts, he hasn’t forgotten his roots.
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