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Buffalo Bills AFL Championship coach Lou Saban added to Wall of Fame

The Buffalo Bills added their AFL Championship-winning coach to the team's Wall of Fame at halftime of their season-opening win over Indianapolis on Sunday.

Matt Warren
Matt Warren is Associate Director of NFL coverage for SB Nation and previously covered the Bills for Buffalo Rumblings for more than a decade.

The Buffalo Bills unexpectedly announced a new member of their Wall of Fame on Sunday afternoon at Ralph Wilson Stadium. After earlier saying there would be no new addition to the Wall, the committee reconvened at training camp and rightfully changed their minds to add head coach Lou Saban as the 30th member of the team's ring of honor.

Saban coached both AFL Championship teams in 1964 and 1965, and is being honored on the 50th anniversary of that accomplishment with his former players on the field. Saban died in 2009 at the age of 87.

He came to the Bills in 1962 after coaching the Boston Patriots, and was named AFL Coach of the Year in both title seasons. He left the Bills following the 1965 season, but returned in 1972 to feed the ball to O.J. Simpson and turn around the fledgling franchise once again. He finished his Bills career with a 68-45-4 overall record.

Saban was never considered for the Wall due to an ongoing feud with founder and owner Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Saban abruptly left the Bills both times he coached here, forcing Wilson to scramble to find a new coach. It's a long overdue honor, and a welcome change. Congratulations are in order for the Saban family.