Manning's Injury Indeed Costs Polian Job

Former Colts vice chairman Bill Polian.

The Indianapolis Colts decided to fire general manager Chris Polian and his father, vice chairman Bill Polian after a 2-14 season that was marred by Peyton Manning's season-long neck injury. Polian said in an interview with the Associated Press that he believes Manning's injury ultimately cost him his job. He went on to say that he failed at coming up with an adequate solution at the quarterback position in the event Manning were to be missing for a substantial amount of time.

Polian is certainly correct in his assertion. To put things into perspective, there has been talk that Jim Caldwell's job is on the line. Would his job be on the line if Manning played the entire season and won the AFC South with an 11-5 record? Most likely not, but his job is on the line now because he was put in a position where the leader of the team on the playing field was injured. The Colts didn't have a backup quarterback capable of keeping them in contention, and the season turned into an embarrassment.

What team actually has a backup quarterback capable of doing what Kerry Collins, Curtis Painter and Dan Orlovsky were asked to do? If you took a look at every playoff team, the only quarterback you could say keep their team in contention is Matt Flynn with the Packers. Of course, all of that talk is premature because we've only seen him in two games. However, in those two games, he was absolutely stellar.

Obviously, Manning proved how valuable he is and proved those four MVP's were well deserved. However, if Jim Irsay is going to let a season like this cloud his mind into making these kind of decisions, then he's making a big mistake. Bill Polian was successful in building a Buffalo Bills team that made four consecutive appearances in the Super Bowl, and were a missed field goal away from winning the first one. He built a losing team in the Colts into a decade-long contender, winning the Super Bowl in 2006.

If Irsay can't see that the Polians are best for the team going forward, then I hope Irsay has someone better in mind. Bill Polian can still contribute a great deal on another NFL franchise. For all of the teams who need a general manager or an executive to make great football moves, contact Bill Polian.