The Buffalo Bills announced early Sunday morning that former team general manager Bill Polian, the architect of the franchise's most successful stretch of seasons, has been elected as the latest inductee onto the team's Wall of Fame at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Polian was promoted to the GM post in Buffalo on December 30, 1985, and held the position for seven seasons. His promotion came on the heels of consecutive 2-14 seasons for the Bills; the team went 4-12 and 7-8 in his first two seasons, and then made the playoffs in the final five. Polian's untimely firing following the Bills' third straight Super Bowl loss in February 1993 has done nothing, in retrospect, to tarnish his legacy as the mastermind behind Buffalo's stretch of AFC dominance in the early 1990s.

Jim Kelly, now a Hall of Fame quarterback, joined the Bills in Polian's first season as GM, which aided the personnel executive's re-building efforts significantly. Polian was also an accomplished drafter - Will Wolford, Mark Pike, Butch Rolle, Shane Conlan, Nate Odomes, Jamie Mueller, Leon Seals, Keith McKeller, Howard Ballard, Thurman Thomas, Jeff Wright, Carlton Bailey, Don Beebe, Carwell Gardner, Glenn Parker, Marvcus Patton, Mike Lodish, Al Edwards, Henry Jones, Phil Hansen, Mark Maddox, John Fina, Matt Darby and Kurt Schulz were all Polian picks - and he also famously pulled off a massive trade for Cornelius Bennett.

No home date has been set for Polian's future induction, but at some point during the 2012 regular season, he will become the 28th member of the Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame.