Since the GM position came into existence for the Chicago Bears in the mid-1970s, they have held to the same process of hiring head coaches. The GM would come in first, and he would get to pick his head coach. That is how it worked with Jim Finks, Rod Graves, Mark Hatley, Jerry Angelo, Phil Emery, Ryan Pace, and Ryan Poles. It is the traditional way things are done. General managers control the roster, so it makes sense they’d go for a coach who can get the most out of the players they want. However, it appears the organization is at least considering a departure from those methods for the upcoming coaching search. Kevin Warren is at the heart of it.
Sources told SM that Warren is determined to land the best possible coach this cycle. He is aiming high. If that means he has to make some sacrifices to land one, so be it. One of those sacrifices could be GM Ryan Poles. The idea is if the coach Warren wants is hesitant to work with a GM who is clearly on the hot seat, the Bears would dismiss him and allow the coach to pick his own GM. Nothing is set in stone. Poles still has fans inside Halas Hall. George McCaskey was the one who hired him. That said, the same was true for Phil Emery, and we saw how that ended.
Kevin Warren is leaning into a growing trend.
Teams hiring top coaches and allowing them to pick their GM is something that only started happening in the past few years. The two teams that popularized it were the 49ers and the Bills. San Francisco hired Kyle Shanahan in 2017. He recommended John Lynch for the GM position, and the two were brought together. They have since reached four NFC championships and two Super Bowls. Buffalo hired Sean McDermott that same year. A few months later, they brought in Brandon Beane, who he’d worked with for years in Carolina. The Bills have made the playoffs six times since then.
It is hard to fault Kevin Warren for considering this approach. Its track record is pretty strong despite being relatively underutilized. Besides, the Bears have tried the old ways for 40 years and had little success. This might be the time to shake things up. Removing Poles from the equation would undoubtedly make it easier to attract top coaching candidates, especially if given the leeway to bring in a GM they know and trust.
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My guess is their going to pry Billy B from UNC
“a source has informed SM” is the new “insider”.
I think this tactic would be great, the evidence supports it, keeping Ryan Poles would be yet another mistake, we need to modernize, Mr. Warren, get’r done…!
There are many more examples of giving a head coach that much power ending in disaster. They bring in all “their guys”, tear down the roster to fit their style, and set the franchise back a decade. Anyone here think the Raiders ended up better off because they did that with the biggest name coach out there that cycle? Gruden brought his Super Bowl ring (won with Dungy’s team) and cleared the front office and roster out, and they’ve never sniffed the success they had immediately before. Remember Philadephia after they sent Andy Reid packing? Carolina with Matt Ruhle, Spurrier… Read more »
This might be both an effective method of selection and a kinder/gentler way to remove Poles. That’s like a double shot of my baby’s love.
When I first came on to this site publicly, I addressed my comment as: Mr. Poles… You can bet that somebody tied to the Bears organization reads these comments for various reasons, some of which might actually get to the GM.