Bill Tobin

Who is Bill Tobin?

Bill Tobin is a former professional American football player who played running back for one season for the Houston Oilers. He would later become the general manager of the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts. He also was director of player personnel for the Detroit Lions in 2001.

Tobin attended the University of Missouri, where he played in the Tigers′ backfield next to quarterback Jim Johnson.

During his time with the Indianapolis Colts he drafted Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk and future Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison. He also drafted Ken Dilger, Tarik Glenn and Adam Meadows, who would be cornerstones of the Colts offensive line. He also built a team in Indianapolis with Jim Harbaugh, who in 1995 led the NFL in passing and had a very successful run in the 1995 NFL playoffs, including the first playoff win for the Colts since Super Bowl V, a span of thirty years. He drafted Ray Buchanan and Ashley Ambrose who came to be tremendous players in the league and eventually started for the Falcons in the Super Bowl. It could be argued that Bill Tobin laid the foundation for the Peyton Manning era because of quality players he drafted.

Tobin was replaced as Colts general manager in 1997 by Bill Polian. Tobin is the brother of former NFL coach Vince Tobin.