Longtime NFL execs BILL POLIAN and RON WOLF on Saturday night were announced as members of the '15 Pro Football HOF class, alongside players JUNIOR SEAU, JEROME BETTIS, WILL SHIELDS, TIM BROWN and CHARLES HALEY, and senior nominee MICK TINGELHOFF. In Buffalo, Vic Carucci noted Polian and Wolf "were the first inductees from the newly created contributors category." Polian in '84 "joined the Bills as their pro personnel director and became their GM after their second consecutive 2-14 finish" in '85. Three seasons later, he "had them in the AFC Championship Game." During Polian’s time as GM from '86-92, the Bills "went to three consecutive Super Bowls and he was largely responsible for putting together the team that made it there for a fourth straight year." After his "remarkable rebuilding job in Buffalo ... Polian went on to quickly build a contender from scratch" as GM of the Panthers from '94-97. Meanwhile, the Colts "had the second-best winning percentage in the regular season at .638" during Polian's tenure from '98-11. Polian is the "only six-time NFL Executive of the Year as selected by his peers." Polian "has selected" former Bills coach and HOFer MARV LEVY as his presenter (BUFFALO NEWS, 2/1). In Charlotte, Joseph Person noted Polian built the Panthers "from scratch and had them in the playoffs in their second season" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/1). In Indianapolis, Gregg Doyel noted Polian with the Colts "put together teams that reached the playoffs 11 times in 14 years and won the 2006 Super Bowl -- cementing his place as perhaps the greatest front-office architect in pro football history" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 2/1).
OF WOLF AND MAN: Wolf said, "I'm completely overwhelmed. My induction is the result of a lot of people making it happen. It's more of a team thing. There were a lot of great players and coaches that helped you get where you are." Wolf added he "never, never" thought the HOF was a possibility. In Green Bay, Bob McGinn noted the Packers hired Wolf to replace VP TOM BRAATZ in '91, and the team "never had a losing season in his nine years" in the role. Wolf "spent about four decades in the NFL beginning as a scout for AL DAVIS and the Raiders" in '63. He then "spent three years as GM" of the expansion Buccaneers, returned to the Raiders in '78 and then "worked there until his brief stint" as Personnel Dir for the Jets under GM DICK STEINBERG (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 2/1). CSNBAYAREA.com's Scott Bair noted Wolf "credits his success in the NFL to Davis." Wolf: "Everything I know about pro football I learned from him" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 1/31). ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky noted even though Wolf retired in '01, his "fingerprints remain all over the Packers." He hired current GM & Dir of Football Operations TED THOMPSON as a scout in '92, and his son, ELIOT, is the Packers' Dir of Player Personnel. Four other "Wolf disciples" are NFL GMs, including the Chiefs' JOHN DORSEY, Raiders' REGGIE MCKENZIE, Redskins' SCOT MCCLOUGHAN and Seahawks' JOHN SCHNEIDER (ESPN.com, 1/31).
