Nix or Polian ?

[shoretalk]

Nix and Whaley.

 

I don't understand why Roth would even suggest this. Stupid IMO considering it's pretty clear there's a plan in place for Whaley to take over. Not to mention Nix has done a pretty good job.

:thumbsup: Sadly this reflects how far behind the times that the Democrat-Chronicle has fallen.

 

The Bills are finally getting their act together with Nix and Whaley is the next generation of great leaders who is learning on the job.

 

Polian deserves to be up on the wall at The Ralph and I am thankful for what he did to build the team of the 80's-90's but to even suggest bringing him back would mean moving Gailey, Whaley, and Nix ... just a very stupid idea!

[mrags]

Polian seems like he does good turning a team around (aka, getting some first overall great QB's) but can't sustain for very long. Once Kelly was gone, the Bills were essentially done for the rest of his tenure. In Indy, no Peyton=no team last year. Hopefully Nix can put down a good foundation for a decent amount of time (nothing lasts forever)

Um.... Polian stayed for ions compared to most GMs and thier tenures and hebdidbit with 2 different teams. He built 3 teams from nothing (regardless with 1st round talent QB or not). Kerry Collins was hardly a HOFer but I built Carolina up from an expansion team to a contender in just a few years. As to your point about the Bills being done after Kelly well you arent probably old enough to remember this but Polian was gone long before Kelly was. Butler was our GM during the last 2 SBs and started to dwindle the roster to nothing at that point. We were guilty of keeping too many players past thier primes. Marv was barely into the game in the last few years Kelly was here.

 

I agree with you wanting Nix at this point but tobsaybwhat you said about Polian you couldn't be more wrong.

 

Polian seems like he does good turning a team around (aka, getting some first overall great QB's) but can't sustain for very long. Once Kelly was gone, the Bills were essentially done for the rest of his tenure. In Indy, no Peyton=no team last year. Hopefully Nix can put down a good foundation for a decent amount of time (nothing lasts forever)

Um.... Polian stayed for ions compared to most GMs and thier tenures and hebdidbit with 2 different teams. He built 3 teams from nothing (regardless with 1st round talent QB or not). Kerry Collins was hardly a HOFer but I built Carolina up from an expansion team to a contender in just a few years. As to your point about the Bills being done after Kelly well you arent probably old enough to remember this but Polian was gone long before Kelly was. Butler was our GM during the last 2 SBs and started to dwindle the roster to nothing at that point. We were guilty of keeping too many players past thier primes. Marv was barely into the game in the last few years Kelly was here.

 

I agree with you wanting Nix at this point but to say what you said about Polian you couldn't be more wrong.

[kickedface]

i do find the timing of this article suspicious. nix is coming off what looks to be his best offseason, and there is a plan in place. or at least the appearance of one. you can start to see what they are trying to do. its not about just building a win now team. it looks to be a long term plan. which i don't think this franchise has had since polian was around. if nix flames out, sure i'd be fine with polian returning, though i was under the impression that would never happen after he got into it with ralph's daughter.

[PromoTheRobot]

Polian and his kid let the Colts rot to the point where, after they lost Manning, they were a 2-win team. No thank you.

 

PTR

[mrags]

Polian and his kid let the Colts rot to the point where, after they lost Manning, they were a 2-win team. No thank you.

 

PTR

I agree with the no thank you and I agree they let the Colts rot to nothing but in all fairness it is unheard of for a team to make the playoffs for close to 10 straight years. The Colt, Pats, Eagles, Cowboys all have had 1 thing in common the past 10 years. They don't change things up in either the coaching or FO. Something remains as the constant. At the end of the day, if the Bills made it to the playoffs for 10 years, went to 2 SBs and won one we'd be in heaven. We were in heaven losing 4. Teams just get old. Just like hockey, if you don't get there and win it all with you team while it's hot, you need to make a change. No body listens to Ruff anymore, a change is needed. It's a tough comparison but it's as close as I can imagine it. Ok, run on sentences and horrible grammar are getting me tired.

[MarkyMannn]

Does Nix get the benefit of a #1 overall pick with one of the best QB prospects ever coming out? ................. Then, he got Manning with a #1 overall pick.

 

Don't underestimate Polian's decision on this. At the time, Manning and Ryan Leaf were like a dead heat as to which to take first. That according to all the experts. He was smart enough to take the right one

 

I would take Polian over any GM in football past or present. You guys comparing him to Nix can't be serious. Polian has been a big winner everywhere he went

Edited May 16, 2012 by MarkyMannn

[Lurker]

I was somewhat surprised to see this article by Roth asking if Polian is the next Bills GM:

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120516/SPORTS0103/305160020/twobillsdrive?nclick_check=1

 

Nothing to see here. Leo's just trying to attract some eyeballs, now that he's got his columnist gig...

[K-9]

If the Bills sign Bill Polian, it will only be to compete for the backup GM with Whaley.

 

We don't need a GM controversy.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Lurker]

If the Bills sign Bill Polian, it will only be to compete for the backup GM with Whaley.

 

We don't need a GM controversy.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Dream Team 2.0, baby...

[SoulMan]

Gut reaction...let's see what Nix can do.

 

Though it is tempting to give Mr. Wilson the chance to right his worst decision in 50 years.

[Marv's Neighbor]

Ralph fired Polian! It was not his best move but that was the decision.

 

On the other hand, he fired Lou Saban too, and he came back and was successful, so who knows?

[hondo in seattle]

You Can't Go Home Again!! Things are never the same... Remember what bringing Marv back was like? I put my money on Nix and Company!!

 

Yep. I was thrilled when Marv came back but it didn't work out. I wouldn't bet on Polian working out if he returned (though the situation isn't exactly analogous). Despite Polian's track record, he's burn a lot of bridges over the years and I doubt if he's as driven as he used to be. I doubt he feel he has anything left to prove.

 

Nix seems to be doing well and we have a hand-picked successor in Whaley. As I recall, Peter King bemoaned the fact we didn't hire a young hotshot like Whaley as our GM when we hired Nix. Well, we got the best of both worlds. An old dog with mountains of experience and a new hotshot on the rise.

[cody]

Bill Polian is 69. Only 3 years younger than Nix. Neither of these guys is going to be an NFL GM 10 years from now.

The question would be if we would rather have Chris Polian or Doug Whaley as the 'GM of the future'.

 

I'll take Whaley over Chris.

 

If Ralph wanted to hire a Polian to replace Littman, I'd sign up for righting that wrong.

[Chandemonium]

Polian seems like he does good turning a team around (aka, getting some first overall great QB's) but can't sustain for very long. Once Kelly was gone, the Bills were essentially done for the rest of his tenure. In Indy, no Peyton=no team last year. Hopefully Nix can put down a good foundation for a decent amount of time (nothing lasts forever)

Well, since polian's employment in buffalo was over a few years before Kelly retired, I can forgive him for not continuing to build the team after Kelly was gone.

[Fan in Chicago]

It is heartening to see the overwhelming support in this thread for the current FO over Polian(s). As for those that mention Chris P, I doubt he is anywhere as skilled as his father.

It is too early to tell if we will pick up a QB in next year's draft. We should enjoy this upcoming season as it promises to be the best in recent memory.

Hopefully, D&C will stop their lame attempt to create a 'GM controversy' (as someone put it).

[Gugny]

Holy crap, the offseason is in full swing. Can't wait till there's actual football to discuss.

[BuffBill]

Does Nix get the benefit of a #1 overall pick with one of the best QB prospects ever coming out? Because that helps the process along. Polian is a very good GM but he is also a fortunate one. He had Kelly on the roster already & got a #1 overall pick in Bruce Smith. He drafted Kerry Collins with a #4 overall pick. Then, he got Manning with a #1 overall pick.

 

As much as people want to make out the draft like it is rocket science, it isn't. It's al ot of luck. And once you get the QB, everyone else falls into place. If the Bills lose one more game and get to pick Big Ben instead of settling for Losman, TD is being praised on this board. If Luck is as good as people think he is, then whoever the Colts' new GM is is thought of as a genius.

 

I get people are mixed on Fitz. But it seems like Nix is building a quality team around him. If Fitz fails, a new QB will step into a much better situation than any Bills' QB in a long time.

Nix appears to be doing a good job after a year or so of head scratching, but us fans will never know what constraints were put on him by ownership. To call Polian lucky is crazy. Did he have the first overall pick? Sure he did, and he didn't mess it up like so many are nowadays, not to mention he had to fight the owner and just about everyone else in the organization who wanted to draft Doug Flutie. The thing that made Polian so great was his finds in the lower rounds, the Andre Reeds, Don Beebe, Reichs, etc. A GM who can turn two terrible organizations around and put an expansion team in the conference championship in just the second or third year doesn't need any luck. He had the first overall pick in Indy also, and people all around were screaming to take Ryan Leaf, but he took maybe the greatest QB ever. No luck with him.

[eball]

Nix appears to be doing a good job after a year or so of head scratching, but us fans will never know what constraints were put on him by ownership. To call Polian lucky is crazy. Did he have the first overall pick? Sure he did, and he didn't mess it up like so many are nowadays, not to mention he had to fight the owner and just about everyone else in the organization who wanted to draft Doug Flutie. The thing that made Polian so great was his finds in the lower rounds, the Andre Reeds, Don Beebe, Reichs, etc. A GM who can turn two terrible organizations around and put an expansion team in the conference championship in just the second or third year doesn't need any luck. He had the first overall pick in Indy also, and people all around were screaming to take Ryan Leaf, but he took maybe the greatest QB ever. No luck with him.

You call it head scratching; others may simply call it "finding out what we have." Which wasn't much.

[K-9]

Nix appears to be doing a good job after a year or so of head scratching, but us fans will never know what constraints were put on him by ownership. To call Polian lucky is crazy. Did he have the first overall pick? Sure he did, and he didn't mess it up like so many are nowadays, not to mention he had to fight the owner and just about everyone else in the organization who wanted to draft Doug Flutie. The thing that made Polian so great was his finds in the lower rounds, the Andre Reeds, Don Beebe, Reichs, etc. A GM who can turn two terrible organizations around and put an expansion team in the conference championship in just the second or third year doesn't need any luck. He had the first overall pick in Indy also, and people all around were screaming to take Ryan Leaf, but he took maybe the greatest QB ever. No luck with him.

 

I agree just about everything but Flutie and the draft. This idea that RW was insistent on Flutie being the choice is an urban myth. Flutie was an 11th round draft pick. Nobody was THAT serious about drafting him, including RW and the Bills.

 

Also, and as Bobby Beathard recently put to rest, Polian never considered drafting Leaf at all. Not for a second. Polian himself has said that as well but I think Beathard who, in his position of GM of the Chargers that year, offers a unique perspective. He said he had called Polian to trade up that one spot to draft Manning and Polian said no.

 

GO BILLS!!!

Edited May 16, 2012 by K-9

[Fan in San Diego]

Nix is doing a great job, why even bring this topic up? Silly article if you ask me.