William Patrick Polian Jr. (born December 8, 1942) is an American football executive. He rose to league prominence as the General Manager of the Buffalo Bills, building a team that participated in four straight Super Bowls—the most consecutive appearances by any team—but lost each time. Following his stint in Buffalo, Polian went on to become the General Manager of the expansion Carolina Panthers. He then served as general manager and team president of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL) from 1998 to 2011, where they reached two Super Bowls, winning XLI. He subsequently served as an NFL analyst for ESPN. Polian was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015. Polian co-founded the now-defunct Alliance of American Football in 2018. Early years Polian grew up in the Fordham section of the Bronx in New York City and graduated from Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1960. He attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy and graduated from New York University in 1964 with a history degree. At NYU, Polian played at safety for the NYU Violets football club team. He lived in Cornwall, New York from 1977 to 1983. Professional career Early career Polian began his career in professional football as a scout for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1978, leaving the team in 1982 and joining the Chicago Blitz of the United States Football League, as personnel director in 1983. The Blitz shut down in 1984, and Polian moved to the Canadian Football League, where he assembled Grey Cup winning teams with the Montreal Alouettes and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Early on in his career, he was a coach for the now defunct football teams at Manhattan College and the Trinity School, both in New York City. Buffalo Bills Polian was General Manager for the Buffalo Bills from 1986 to 1992. When Polian was promoted to general manager of the Bills on December 30, 1985, the Bills were suffering from back-to-back 2–14 seasons and fan interest was at an all-time low. Polian was originally hired as director of pro personnel for the Bills on August 2, 1984. Polian was instrumental in the signing of Bruce Smith to his first NFL contract, after which he was promoted to GM in 1985. While GM of the Bills, Polian won the NFL Executive of the Year Award twice, in 1988 and in 1991. After the 1992 season, on February