Bills Fire General Manager, Name Another -- Polian Knew Ouster Coming Last Fall

BUFFALO, N.Y. - John Butler was hired today as general manager of the Buffalo Bills. He succeeds Bill Polian, who was fired after leading the team to three straight Super Bowls.

Butler, 46, has been the Bills' director of player personnel since 1989. For two years before that, he'd been the team's director of college scouting. He had previously worked for the San Diego Chargers and for the Chicago Blitz of the defunct U.S. Football League.

Bills owner Ralph Wilson Jr. said in a statement that Butler also was given the title of executive vice president and that Jerry Foran, director of marketing and sales for the Bills, has been promoted to vice president for administration.

Wilson said Butler will run the team's football operations and Foran, 47, will handle administrative duties. Polian had run both sides of the operation for the Bills.

Polian, who announced his own dismissal at a news conference yesterday, said he knew he would not return to the Bills after Wilson told him at the start of the season that he planned to restructure team management.

Polian did not say if the Dallas Cowboys' 52-17 rout of the Bills in Sunday's Super Bowl played a role in Wilson's decision to fire him. He refused to answer questions during the brief press conference.

Polian, 50, took over the team in 1986 and within three years transformed it into the dominant franchise in the AFC.

Bills Coach Marv Levy said he was saddened to hear the news of Polian's firing. Polian will have little trouble finding another job, Levy said.

Polian rebuilt the Bills through the draft, trades and free-agent signings. The Bills have been to the playoffs five straight years and have won more games than any other NFL team over that span.

Note

-- Bobby Humphrey, the Miami Dolphins running back who is wanted on a misdemeanor charge of giving a false name to police in Columbus, Ga., did not surrender to authorities yesterday as promised. Humphrey, also charged with cocaine possession, aggravated assault and destruction of hotel property, was arrested Sunday and released on bond after a fracas with a former Alabama teammate, Vantreise Davis.