One can understand if several Chicago Bears fans groaned when Ryan Poles became the new GM. He came over from the Kansas City Chiefs. This was right after the organization experienced the frustrating Matt Nagy era. Was the McCaskey family sure they wanted to pluck from that tree again? Sure, the Chiefs have enjoyed tremendous success over the past decade, but that doesn’t mean stealing certain people from them is the right call. Look at what happened with the New England Patriots. Organizations kept taking coaches and executives from them, and it never came close to replicating that franchise’s success.
Nagy was so confident he could replicate the culture and offense he left behind in Kansas City. Time proved him wildly incorrect. After a great first season, the Bears slowly slid into mediocrity. The difference this time is Poles understands reality. He explained to Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune that he’s under no illusions. There is no way he will be able to replicate exactly what he witnessed with the Chiefs. What he is doing with the Bears must be done using different methods.
He longed to recreate that rebuild in a new place but also understood he couldn’t bring the way it was done in Kansas City, Mo., to a place like Chicago.
“It has to be done a different way,” Poles said. “It’s not going to be a cookie-cutter setup. There’s a level of philosophy, a level of feel and instinct that goes with it.”
Ryan Poles at least understands the realities of the NFL.
Unless he somehow recreates the same conditions from year to year as he saw in Kansas City, there is no way to build that in Chicago. This must be done with different players, different coaching staff, different culture, and different philosophies. The good news is history shows there is more than one way to win the Super Bowl. Just look at the last two teams to win it. Kansas City was built through good drafting and calculated free agent moves. Conversely, the Rams were built through aggressive trades for established stars guiding a young, cheap roster of solid role players.
Ryan Poles has a certain way he wants to do it. He wants to build through the draft. That isn’t a surprise. He’s a scout at heart and believes in the process of drafting and developing players. It is the most proven way to construct a sustained winner. He’s not wrong. The Bears proved it in the 1980s and the 2000s. Getting back to that is Poles’ objective. The only question is whether fans have the patience to let him try. Working for big-market teams requires a certain level of calm under pressure. This GM seems to have it.
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