As reported last night by the Indianapolis Star, the Colts have announced the elevation of Chris Polian to G.M.
“I am very pleased to announce the promotion of Chris Polian to Vice President and General Manager,” owner Jim Irsay said in a team-issued release. “Chris has been involved in every aspect of our football operations for the past 12 years. His direct contributions are part of the reasons why the Colts have been among the league’s top teams for an extended period of time. Chris is a very talented individual who has worked his way through the ranks, and we are pleased to have him serve in this position. Historically, the Colts have been an organization to promote internally, and I feel this will allow the club the best opportunity to continue competing at the level we have sustained for the past few seasons.”
Per the Star, both Chris Polian and Bill Polian have signed contract extensions through 2012 and beyond.
Some of you have asked how the Colts were able to promote Chris Polian to the position of G.M. absent a Rooney Rule-compliant interview process. The simple answer is that he still isn’t occupying the top spot in the football operation; thus, the Colts weren’t required to consider a minority candidate for the position.
Presumably, Chris Polian’s contract mandates that he will step into the shoes currently filled by his father, Bill, when the elder Polian relinquishes his role as the ultimate decision-maker in the football operation. This approach will allow the Colts to avoid the requirement that a minority candidate be considered after Bill Polian retires.
And, as a practical matter, the Colts are the last team that ever should be accused of failing to properly consider minority candidates for key jobs. Tony Dungy was hired as head coach in the days before the Rooney Rule was adopted, and current coach Jim Caldwell — also African-American — inherited the job without a full-blown search.
So look for the 38-year-old Chris Polian to be with the Colts for a long time.
Or at least until after Peyton Manning retires and the team lapses into an extended funk as they try to replace him with quarterbacks from California.
Rooney Rule = Stupidity
Or at least until after Peyton Manning retires and the team lapses into an extended funk as they try to replace him with quarterbacks from California.
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It wouldn’t surprise me if the Colts have a replacement for QB in the making from some junior high school some where……………just aren’t stupid enough to let it be know by the media or the likes of PFT.
so a minority candidate can be chosen without a caucasian candidate being interviewed but if a highly qualified caucasian candidate is hired without a minorty being interviewed the team gets fined. How is that not racist?
Ufanforreal says: November 27, 2009 12:36 PM
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Colts have a replacement for QB in the making from some junior high school some where……………just aren’t stupid enough to let it be know by the media or the likes of PFT.
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What a dumb post. Are you serious? If the QB they are supposedly grooming in junior high plays college and obviously has to play well, don’t you think other teams might draft him before the Colts. I hope your post was sarcastic, because it was all kinds of stupid!
Rick, it would only be racist if whites weren’t allowed to interview at all. Don’t throw the word if you don’t know what it means. The Rooney Rule is definitely unfair to teams because they usually know who they are hiring in advance. It’s political correctness gone a little too far. But calling it racist is naive. You can whine about racism when whites aren’t allowed to eat in public or use the bathroom with minorities. This is small fries compared to the real racism we subjected others to for hundreds of years.
Ufanforreal says: November 27, 2009 12:36 PM
It wouldn’t surprise me if the Colts have a replacement for QB in the making from some junior high school some where……………just aren’t stupid enough to let it be know by the media or the likes of PFT.
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What a dumb post. Are you serious? If the QB they are supposedly grooming in junior high plays college and obviously has to play well, don’t you think other teams might draft him before the Colts. I hope your post was sarcastic, because it was all kinds of stupid!
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Not always the way it goes check the history on players and commitment to a team.
stefanovich:
Requiring a black to be interviewed, but not requiring that a white be interviewed, is certainly racist. It is a requirement based on race.
Race should never enter into the equation for any job, or any position what so ever. Your race should not be an advantage, or a disadvantage. A quota or racial requirement of any type is racist by nature. It is BASED ON RACE!
I like how you describe that Caldwell “inherited” the job. Which principally, should be the only thing that the Rooney Rule prevents. Meritocracy for the win.
Tony Dungy left a note of advice to Caldwell when he left the team.
The letter had these words:
Don’t piss off Peyton. Enjoy riding his coattails.
I am sure Jimmy worte his own speech…. not