Bruce Polen
{{Short description|American football player and coach (born 1951)}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Bruce Polen
| image =
| alt =
| contract =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|10|22}}
| birth_place = Dennison, Ohio, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
}}
| player_years1 = 1969–1972
| player_team1 = William Penn
| player_years2 = 1973
| player_team2 = Oakland Raiders
| player_years3 = 1974–1975
| player_team3 = Kansas City Chiefs
| player_positions = Defensive back
| coach_years1 = 1976–1981
| coach_team1 = Pittsburg State (DC)
| coach_years2 = 1982–1983
| coach_team2 = Pittsburg State
| overall_record = 13–6
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record =
| championships = 1 CSIC (1982)
| awards =
; As a player
- First-team Little All-American (1972)
| coaching_records =
}}
Bruce Polen (born October 22, 1951) is an American former college football coach who was the tenth head football coach at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, serving for two seasons, from 1982 until 1983, compiling a record of 13–6. He played college football for the William Penn Statesmen. He was selected by the Oakland Raiders Polen in the 14th round of the 1973 NFL draft.
Playing career
Polen was born in Dennison, Ohio, but later moved to Lee's Summit, Missouri. He played football at and graduated from Lee's Summit High School in 1969. He was not heavily recruited out of high school and attended William Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Polen was a four-year starter at defensive back on the football under head coach Ron Randleman, and also played baseball and ran track. He was selected by the Associated Press as a first-team defensive back on the 1972 Little All-America college football team.{{cite news|title=UC Davis QB Is Little All-American|newspaper=Santa Cruz Sentinel|date=December 6, 1972|page=22|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/89272815/uc-davis-qb-is-little-all-american/|via=Newspapers.com}}
The Oakland Raiders selected Polen in the 14th round of the 1973 NFL draft, but cut him prior to the start of the season. The Kansas City Chiefs signed him the following year, but he suffered an injury to his left knee during spring camp. Polen underwent two surgeries, in 1974 and 1975, but the Chiefs cut him afterwards when he failed a physical. In 1978 successfully sued the Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, for botching the post-surgery physical therapy on his knee and ending his playing career.
Coaching career
His playing career over, Polen turned to coaching. Randleman, his head coach at William Penn, was the incoming head coach at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. Pittsburg competed in the Central States Intercollegiate Conference (CSIC), part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Randleman hired him as his defensive coordinator, a role he filled from 1976 to 1981. The 1981 team went 10–2 and lost the NAIA Division I Championship. Randleman departed after the season to become head coach at Sam Houston State University, then in the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference. Polen was to be Randleman's defensive coordinator at Sam Houston, but after a week returned to Pittsburg State and took over as head coach.
Polen was head coach from 1982 to 1983. Over those two years he compiled a 13–6 record and won a conference title. Pittsburg State did not renew Polen's contract for the 1984 season. Offensive coordinator Mike Mayerske took over as interim head coach; Dennis Franchione was hired as a permanent replacement in 1985.
After coaching
Polen did not return to coaching and went into business, remaining in the Pittsburg area. He and Randleman, who retired from Sam Houston State in 2004 after 23 seasons, have remained close friends. Polen was inducted into William Penn's athletic hall of fame in 1990 and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics hall of fame in 2020. In addition to his business activities, Polen has done some coaching at Parsons Senior High School in Parsons, Kansas, down the road from Pittsburg.
Head coaching record
{{CFB Yearly Record Start | type = coach | team = | conf = | bowl = | poll = no }}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Pittsburg State Gorillas
| conf = Central States Intercollegiate Conference
| startyear = 1982
| endyear = 1983
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| year = 1982
| name = Pittsburg State
| overall = 7–2
| conference = 6–1
| confstanding = T–1st
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| year = 1983
| name = Pittsburg State
| overall = 6–4
| conference = 4–3
| confstanding = T–3rd
| bowlname =
| bowloutcome =
| bcsbowl =
| ranking = no
| ranking2 = no
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Pittsburg State
| overall = 13–6
| confrecord = 10–4
}}
{{CFB Yearly Record End
| overall = 13–6
| bowls = no
| poll = no
| polltype =
}}
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{cite news|last=Wickman|first=G. Fred|title=Football Knee Worth $500,000|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60498245/football-knee-worth-500000/|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|date=June 24, 1979|page=47|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 4, 2020 }} {{free access}}
{{cite news|last=DeArmond|first=Mike|title=Polen Unnoticed in Suburban Days|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60479924/polen-unnoticed-in-suburban-days/|newspaper=The Kansas City Times|date=December 6, 1972|page=34|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 4, 2020 }} {{free access}}
{{cite news|last=Ross|first=George|title=14th Round Challenge|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60480016/14th-round-challenge/|newspaper=Oakland Tribune|date=March 6, 1973|page=35|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 4, 2020 }} {{free access}}
{{cite news|last=Vogrin|first=Bill|title=Pittsburg State is favored to win conference title|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60479610/pittsburg-state-is-favored-to-win/|newspaper=Parsons Sun|date=August 10, 1982|page=14|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 4, 2020 }} {{free access}}
{{cite news|title=Franchione named coach at Pitt State|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60479728/franchione-named-coach-at-pitt-state/|newspaper=Parsons Sun|date=December 14, 1984|page=12|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 4, 2020 }} {{free access}}
{{Cite news |last=Frye |first=Sean |date=April 2, 2015 |title=Svaty holds 'State of the Program' address |language=en |work=Parsons Sun |url=https://www.parsonssun.com/sports/article_c2e46352-d965-11e4-8707-27051985e47f.html |access-date=October 4, 2020}}
{{cite news|title=Pittsburg St. names interim grid boss|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60506562/pittsburg-st-names-interim-grid-boss/|newspaper=The Salina Journal|date=June 13, 1984|page=17|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 4, 2020 }} {{free access}}
{{cite news|title=CSIC, MIAA football coaches look at upcoming season|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60497907/csic-miaa-football-coaches-look-at/|newspaper=St. Joseph Gazette|date=August 10, 1982|page=15|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = October 4, 2020 }} {{free access}}
{{cite web | last=Stacy | first=Kelli | title=How a young Sam Pittman refined his skills with Bruce Polen and Ron Randleman | website=The Athletic | date=May 1, 2020 | url=https://theathletic.com/1785737/2020/05/01/who-coached-your-coach-sam-pittman-bruce-polen-ron-randleman-pittsburg-state-arkansas-razorbacks/ | accessdate=October 4, 2020}}
}}
{{Pittsburg State Gorillas football coach navbox}}
{{Raiders1973DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polen, Bruce}}
Category:American football defensive backs
Category:Kansas City Chiefs players
Category:Oakland Raiders players
Category:Pittsburg State Gorillas football coaches
Category:William Penn Statesmen football players
Category:People from Dennison, Ohio
Category:Sportspeople from Tuscarawas County, Ohio
Category:Sportspeople from Lee's Summit, Missouri
Category:Coaches of American football from Missouri