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Bill Polian To Enter Pro Football Hall Of Fame This Weekend

Intro: On Saturday night, former Colts General Manager Bill Polian will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What does Polian think of his induction?

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INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts representation is expected to include the likes of Jim Irsay, Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne.

Canton, Ohio is where those three will gather this weekend to watch a man they owe so much to earn football's grandest honor.

Former Colts General Manager Bill Polian will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night.

"It's an absolute privilege to be in that rarified company," Polian says of being in the Hall of Fame.

"I don't see myself as on par with any of those people, but I won't give it back either (laughs)."

Whether Polian thinks it or not, his name in Canton is well deserved.

In 32 seasons in the National Football League, Polian helped take three franchises from the bottom half of the league to the depths of the postseason.

After stints in Buffalo (three straight Super Bowl appearances) and Carolina (an NFC Championship appearance in the franchise's second season), Polian was the architect of the Colts incredible run during the 2000s.

Polian spent 14 seasons with the Colts. During that span, the Colts piled up 146 wins, eight division titles, earned 11 postseason births and, of course, captured Super Bowl XLI.

"That was a very special team, a very special group of coaches," Polian said of his perennial runs with the Colts.

"Jim (Irsay) gave us all the things we needed to do to get that done on a yearly basis. For me, the enduring memory was beating the Patriots (in Indianapolis) for the AFC Championship."

Fellow Hall of Famer, Marv Levy will present Polian in Canton on Saturday.

Polian called choosing Levy, who coached the Bills from 1986-1997, the easiest decision of his life.

What Polian did across three NFL franchises is unparalleled in NFL history.

He became the first man to win the NFL's Executive of the Year Award six times. Polian helped the Colts set NFL records for the most wins in a decade (115) from 2000-2009.

What Polian will experience this weekend was a far cry though of any visions the Bronx child in him had growing up.

"It's hard to get your head around it," Polian says. "When you are eight, 10 years old and playing in the street or the backyard, you dream of being in the Super Bowl. No one ever dreams of being in the Hall of Fame, so it's really hard to comprehend. Then when you see the caliber of people that are in there, it's humbling. In many ways, with this new (contributor) category the nominators and the selectors sent the following message---people who labor in the vineyards so to speak, the true football people, general managers, scouts, deserve recognition."

"It's an honor for everybody who works on the football side of the business, whose not a coach, not a player. I look at it that way. I humbly accept the award on behalf of hundreds and thousands of people who have made the game better."

Colts Owner Jim Irsay will make the trip to Canton on Saturday for Polian's induction.

Irsay said earlier this week he hopes Polian's entry into the hall starts a run of Colts, with Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy knocking on the door.

"That's something I'm really excited for," Irsay said of Polian's induction.

"It's great for him and the Colts. It's great to have a Hall of Famer step on that podium. I can remember way back when in '98 when I hired him and he did so many great things for this franchise and that era was such a special era. To see him go into the Hall of Fame is really, really exciting. I know how much it means to him and his family."

A look back at Bill Polian's career with the Colts!

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