Ryan Poles Is Reportedly Not The One Coaches Are Wary Of In Chicago

Going into this off-season, everybody knew the Chicago Bears would be hunting for a new head coach. The biggest concern for fans was the presence of GM Ryan Poles. According to recent information, he’s in the last year of his contract. That, along with the past three years, which involved lots of losing and too much dysfunction, has many wondering if he will be too much of a deterrent from landing the best possible coaches. Poles refused to answer questions about his contract status, and George McCaskey insisted it wouldn’t be a problem.

In truth, he might be right. Poles isn’t the biggest concern—that would be the man above him in the hierarchy. Adam Hoge of CHGO reached out to contacts around the league and formed an interesting picture. While Poles’ contract situation is 100% a talking point for potential coach candidates, they are far more wary of team president Kevin Warren. They aren’t sure what kind of power he has in the organization, and he doesn’t exactly have the strongest reputation in the coaching fraternity.

Sorting that out will be a challenge.

Despite chairman George McCaskey claiming it has never come up in an interview he’s been a part of, I’m told Poles’ contract status absolutely is a major talking point among head coaching candidates. But perhaps an even bigger concern? The role of team president Kevin Warren. Warren’s relationship with Big Ten coaches was a big enough issue that questions about working for him have seeped well into the NFL coaching community. It was reiterated to me this week that a Jim Harbaugh-Kevin Warren pairing was “an absolute non-starter,” which is why the Bears didn’t even attempt to go down that road last year.

That’s not to suggest Warren’s presence is a poison pill in attracting a desirable head coach, but candidates are at least wary of his presence and have questions about the somewhat odd power dynamics currently existing at Halas Hall.

Ryan Poles faces a difficult challenge over the next few weeks.

His job isn’t just finding a quality coach for his team; it is also selling that coach on Chicago being a stable place to build a career. This organization has chewed through four head coaches since 2013. That time has seen a lot of ugly moments off the field, just as much as on it, from Aaron Kromer ratting out Jay Cutler to the media to a pair of Matt Eberflus assistants getting fired for HR-related violations. Stability is desperately needed inside that building. Neither Poles nor Warren offer it based solely on reputation.

That means they must do some strong convincing once they and the coaches meet. There have been no indications from the interviews so far that the Bears brass have conducted themselves poorly. Ryan Poles may get some well-deserved criticism for past mistakes, but he’s never had a problem being honest and forthright with people. Warren carries himself like a politician, so trusting what he says can feel difficult. Still, he is willing to put forward all the resources necessary to get the right guy.