It is well-known that former Bills GM and current Colts GM Bill Polian and Bills GM Marv Levy have had a close relationship with one another over the years. When he was with Montreal, Levy urged the Allouettes owner to give Polian his first full time job scouting job in pro football. Later, when Polian became the Bills' GM, he had a role in hiring Levy as the Bills' Head Coach. And, Marv has stated that, at some point after Ralph Wilson offered Levy the opportunity to become the Bills GM (I don't recall if he said that it was before he accepted the job or in the days right after--although I suspect the latter), he talked with Polian about the job. It is quite apparent from Levy's book that he and Polian worked well together and had a similar/compatible approach to building a football team. For those reasons, I believe that Vic Carrucci's profile of Polian on NFL.com offers some insight for Bills fans into what Levy's approach to building the Bills is and will be:
"....He methodically went about working the draft to put together a club that would be good, if not great, over a prolonged stretch. Free agency is for quick fixes that, at best, will generate short-term success. For Polian, the best players are homegrown. He has as keen an eye for identifying NFL talent in the college ranks as anyone in league history. He has authored a "scouting bible" for Colts scouts to use when assessing players. The basic requirements to play for Polian's team are intelligence, good character and proper football temperament (which is another way of saying that, even though most of them have a gentlemanly demeanor off the field, they can take and deliver hits with the best of them). He wants players who will learn from a superb teacher, Dungy, just as the Buffalo players he acquired learned from another exceptional teacher, Hall of Famer Marv Levy...."
It is also interesting to note that in Polian's first two seasons in Buffalo after arriving in 1984, the Bills went 2-14. Even with Polian's ability to spot talent, it still took some time to turn the Bills around and build them into the team that went to the Super Bowl four years in a row. Similarly, even though Peyton Manning was his first draft pick with the Colts, it took the Colts six years to reach their first AFC Championship Game and has taken 8 years for them to make it to the Super Bowl.
Obviously, Bill Polian's approach has not been to go for the "quick fix" and everything that Marv Levy has said and done since becoming the Bills' GM indicates that he shares this philosophy. While the Bills team that Levy took over last January were not in as bad shape as the Bills team that Polian joined in 1984 or the Colts when Polian became their GM, I think that Bills fans should anticipate that, if Levy continues to follow the kind of "larger picture-longer term" approach to building the team that Polian has followed, it may take another year or two before they see the kinds of results that they want. No doubt this will serve to only further infuriate and frustrate those Bills fans who are already disappointed and upset about how long it has been since the Bills last made it to the playoffs. But, for those who point to the success of the Bills teams of the early 1990s and the current Colts as examples of what they want the Bills to become again, it is important to understand that those teams did not turn around and become successful overnight and that, if Levy plans to follow the same blueprint in turning these Bills into a team that contend for a title over a prolonged stretch, they should not expect any "quick fixes" for this team.
"....He methodically went about working the draft to put together a club that would be good, if not great, over a prolonged stretch. Free agency is for quick fixes that, at best, will generate short-term success. For Polian, the best players are homegrown. He has as keen an eye for identifying NFL talent in the college ranks as anyone in league history. He has authored a "scouting bible" for Colts scouts to use when assessing players. The basic requirements to play for Polian's team are intelligence, good character and proper football temperament (which is another way of saying that, even though most of them have a gentlemanly demeanor off the field, they can take and deliver hits with the best of them). He wants players who will learn from a superb teacher, Dungy, just as the Buffalo players he acquired learned from another exceptional teacher, Hall of Famer Marv Levy...."
It is also interesting to note that in Polian's first two seasons in Buffalo after arriving in 1984, the Bills went 2-14. Even with Polian's ability to spot talent, it still took some time to turn the Bills around and build them into the team that went to the Super Bowl four years in a row. Similarly, even though Peyton Manning was his first draft pick with the Colts, it took the Colts six years to reach their first AFC Championship Game and has taken 8 years for them to make it to the Super Bowl.
Obviously, Bill Polian's approach has not been to go for the "quick fix" and everything that Marv Levy has said and done since becoming the Bills' GM indicates that he shares this philosophy. While the Bills team that Levy took over last January were not in as bad shape as the Bills team that Polian joined in 1984 or the Colts when Polian became their GM, I think that Bills fans should anticipate that, if Levy continues to follow the kind of "larger picture-longer term" approach to building the team that Polian has followed, it may take another year or two before they see the kinds of results that they want. No doubt this will serve to only further infuriate and frustrate those Bills fans who are already disappointed and upset about how long it has been since the Bills last made it to the playoffs. But, for those who point to the success of the Bills teams of the early 1990s and the current Colts as examples of what they want the Bills to become again, it is important to understand that those teams did not turn around and become successful overnight and that, if Levy plans to follow the same blueprint in turning these Bills into a team that contend for a title over a prolonged stretch, they should not expect any "quick fixes" for this team.
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