Bill Polian: Irsay Wanted Luck Over RG3 Because RG3 'Likely To Get Hurt'

Yes, Bill Polian is still on the airways, continuing to make up crap as he goes along. Still, despite his penchant for on-air hysterics and factually-challenged statements, whenever the former Colts president gets a microphone shoved in his face, the stuff that comes out of Bill's mouth is most often golden.

Trust us. We know.

Recently, Bill was a guest on his buddy Dan Dakich's radio show in Indianapolis during the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine. In the course of the interview, which mostly involved Dakich verbally agreeing to everything Polian flapped his gums about (I mean, seriously, Polian could have said, "And eating a live baby is good for your spleen," and Dakich would have agreed, "Oh yeah!"), the subject of Bill's tenure with the Colts came up, in particular the team's discussions on who to draft with the first overall pick in 2012.

The two quarterbacks considered at the top of that draft were Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. Maybe you've heard of them. Polian told Dakich that, for much of the 2011 season, his focus had been in scouting those top quarterbacks, along with Texas A & M's Ryan Tannehill. If you are to believe Tony Dungy, the coach Bill Polian won his first and only Super Bowl with back in 2006, Polian was leaning RG3 towards the end of 2011.

However, take a look at what Polian told Dakich, referencing a meeting he had with Jim Irsay just prior to the Colts Week 17 game against the Jaguars to close the 2011 regular season [emphasis mine]:

It's interesting, I said to Jim Irsay just two day days before I got let go, I've done all the work on the top quarterbacks, RG and Andrew. My son Chris had joined me and he'd done the same amount work. Tom Telesco wasn't in the building, but, you know, all three of us had seen both at great length. I said, whatever happens tomorrow, we're golden because we're going to get one of the two. They're both can't miss. And if we end up with the first pick, make it your choice. I don't care. Both of them are gonna be great. Pending something we find out [at the Combine] a physical in a physical exam, or some special thing that comes about that we don't know about now. But, if you're judging just based on scouting, you can't miss on either one. [Jim Irsay] said, I would rather Andrew because RG is a running quarterback and he's likely to get hurt. Jim knows football, and understood it.

Bill Polian and his son, team general manager Chris Polian, were fired the Monday following the Colts loss to the Jaguars in Week 17, guaranteeing them the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft.

This is interesting because it's another confirmation by Polian that Irsay had already made the decision on Luck before 2011 had ended. Had Polian been retained as the top man in the front office, Luck would likely still have been the QB selected ahead of RG3. It also strongly suggests that 2013 NFL Executive of the Year Ryan Grigson, the man who effectively replaced Polian in Indianapolis, had little say in who the No. 1 overall pick would be.

Luck was Irsay's pick, and the reason for taking him over RG3 was durability.

Seeing as how RG3 sustained a concussion and two knee injuries during the course of the 2012 season, I'd say that was a pretty smart move there on Irsay's part.