Matt Eberflus has already worn out his welcome with Chicago Bears fans. The past two weeks saw the team blow yet another lead in the final seconds on the Hail Mary in Washington. Then, last Sunday, they didn’t even show up in Arizona, getting blown out 29-9 against the Cardinals. Most of the blame goes to the head coach, who seems to be losing his grip on the locker room with each devastating setback. However, some people have also pointed the finger at GM Ryan Poles. Despite his assertions that this team would be competitive, many of the problems can be traced back to him.
They still don’t have a viable offensive line. His young quarterback, Caleb Williams, is on pace for 62 sacks. That alone is enough for many to justify moving on. Eberflus shouldn’t be the only one to wear this team’s poor record. Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog is known for his strong connections to the team. A recent string of posts on Twitter indicate Poles isn’t as safe as some might think, and it stems from his stubborn loyalty to the head coach.
Ryan Poles will be faced with a tough decision if things spiral.
Back in 2014, Phil Emery made the mistake of maintaining his full backing of Marc Trestman despite the wheels coming off in epic fashion during the season. Team chairman George McCaskey thus decided to fire both of them. By contrast, Ryan Pace had clearly distanced himself from John Fox in 2017. The two weren’t communicating much even before the season began. McCaskey was pitched that a coaching change could unlock quarterback Mitch Trubisky, and the team would finally ascend.
It sounds like Ryan Poles is drifting more into the Emery camp. He believes so much in Eberflus’ vision and leadership that he is unwilling to take greater notice of his faults: poor situational awareness, late-game collapses, and questionable accountability. Combine that with the worrying state of the offensive line and the inability to find a competent play-caller? Poles is far from safe.
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On Jan. 12. 2024, the DC Commanders hired SF’s Adam Peters as their new GM.
Compare and contrast the moves of DC’s GM Adam Peters with those of Bears GM Ryan Poles, during the last 10 months.
And then, lie to me — about how “our guy” is better!
@JFK was AFK — At the end of the day, Ian Cunningham may be seen as the best signing Ryan Poles ever made. It would be unfortunate if we came to that realization at a time, after Ian had left Halas Hall. ______________ The “New York Times” posted an article from “The Athletic” authored by Ben Standig (8/29/24) entitled: NFL agents dish on best (and worst) franchise, Mahomes’ value and Dak’s next deal There you’ll find the Bears assistant GM, Ian Cunningham, received 4 votes — and was the top vote-getter among five others NFL execs who garnered multiple votes… Read more »
And Poles is hardly innocent in this mess. Taking away the luck of the first two “1st round” picks his mistakes stand out….Cesspool, Nate Davis, Velus Jones, and countless signings with spending much of the owners money. Add to the list,the hiring of Eberflus, and Poles’ indecisiveness and lack of action when and where needed. He’s a nice young man who was also hired on the cheap much like Eberflus. McCaskey’s no longer own more than 49% of the team, and are focusing on the business end of the Bears.
TGena – I’m not against Ian Cunningham. He did work under Howie Roseman and Ozzie Newsome. However, to play devil’s advocate, would you want the guy who worked under Poles or would you rather clean house? Also to note, Cunningham and Poles have traveled the same path to where they are. Both were UDFAs in 2008 that didn’t make the team. Both are also roughly the same age. So I don’t know if this fits the TWTY mold.
GM Cunningham
HC Johnson
DC Saleh