Looking Back at HOF Contributors: Bill Polian

Two contributor finalists will be selected this week on Thursday, August 23. The Contributor category is for individuals who made outstanding contributions to professional football in capacities other than playing or coaching. The HOF Bylaws to the selection process were instituted in August 2014 in which a contributor will be included among the annual list of finalists for election.
 
The Committee is comprised of nine members of the overall selection committee. Through mail vote, the 2019 Contributor nominees are being reduced to a list of 10 semifinalists. Then, on a rotating basis, five of the nine members of the committee meet at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton to discuss each of the Contributors.
 
Here's a look back at the five contributors who have been elected.
 
 
Bill Polian’s road to the Hall of Fame started on Oct. 22, 2014 when he, alongside Ron Wolf, was selected as a contributor finalist.
 
“It’s an incredible honor that I never envisioned happening,” Polian commented after learning he was nominated.
 
He was officially elected to the Class of 2015 on Jan. 31, 2015 by the selection committee who met in Phoenix, Arizona, the day before the Super Bowl.
 
Polian is most noted for turning the fortunes of three different teams that included a combined five Super Bowl appearances by the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts. He guided the Bills to four straight AFC Eastern Division titles and earned three straight Super Bowl berths after winning the AFC championship in 1990-92.

As the general manager of the expansion Carolina Panthers, he helped build a team that advanced to the NFC championship in just its second season.

Polian next served as President/General Manager of the Indianapolis Colts from 1998-2011 during which time the club captured eight division crowns and advanced to a pair of Super Bowls including a win over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.

In all he had a 32-year NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs (1978-1982), Buffalo (1984-1992), Carolina (1995-97), and Indianapolis (1998-2011). He also worked for the National Football League office in 1993 and 1994.