The Chicago Bears thought they did everything right with their head coaching search in 2022. They interviewed several candidates and assembled a good team led by a Hall of Fame general manager, Bill Polian. However, later reports suggest the search was undercooked in several areas. Perhaps the most prevalent was the fact that GM Ryan Poles didn’t bother opening the search after he got the job. He simply met with the three candidates the team liked and picked one.
That led to three brutal seasons of mostly losing, characterized by rampant staff turnover and ugly late-game collapses. Poles nearly lost his job because of that fiasco. He knew that the next head coaching search would have to be different. While the Bears eventually met with 17 different candidates, there was a presumption that there was no organization to the process. In actuality, it was the complete opposite. According to Kevin Warren and George McCaskey, Poles’ approach to the search was obsessive. Adam Jahns of The Athletic got the details.
To say it’s extensive would be an understatement.
“It was the most organized interview process that I’ve ever been involved with,” Warren said. “Not for a coach, I’m talking about for an executive, for anyone. It was great to be able to see that come to life.”
Poles ran his search through Microsoft Teams. Everything was there: the calendar, candidate experience overviews and background information. Upon the conclusion of each interview, the members of Poles’ interview panel — Warren, McCaskey, Matt Feinstein (director of football administration), Jeff King (senior director of player personnel), Ted Crews (chief administrative officer/special adviser to the president and CEO) and Liz Geist (executive vice president of people and culture/chief human resources officer) — were asked to grade each candidate. Poles set a 1-9 scale: 1 being a major concern and 9 meaning excellent. A variety of factors were considered: passion, football intelligence, vision, problem-solving, independence, communication, growth mindset, self-awareness and, of course, a plan for quarterback development.
But Poles wanted written responses, too. The panel was asked to consider a candidate’s background, key skills and leadership traits. They also provided their final assessments of each candidate. For more, Poles added reports where candidates were graded on how they presented themselves publicly in the past as the potential face of the franchise. Poles’ database had links to news articles, press conferences, podcasts and social media posts that featured the candidates.
Say this for Ryan Poles: he doesn’t half-ass anything.
People always think they have a good idea of what it’s like to be in the mind of a general manager. This should remind you that such a notion is absurd. The sheer volume of information these guys process in a single day is insane. Poles utilized his scouting background to construct a search for his head coach. He made sure there was no possible way he’d miss something about every candidate he met with. The more information, the better. It certainly feels like overkill, but this underscores the importance of the decision.
Ryan Poles knew this hire would likely decide his future as GM of the Bears. He couldn’t afford to get it wrong. If that meant going overboard with the preparation, so be it. Everybody seems happy with the results. Ben Johnson already comes across as somebody the organization has waited many years for. If he lives up to the hype, Poles’ process to land him will become the stuff of folklore.
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Did the author specifically write that Poles reeks? I guess, if you mean ineptitude. Otherwise, he looks clean and likely uses African Lynx as I do all over.
I’m back! Keep the applause down. I spent $212 with the unnecessary tip. The dinner was worth every little dollar. I’m too full to read your trashy comments. But I see that TGena has commented which I shall read later. I’m sure it is the creme dela crème of comments here.
Thom-ass You’re always changing or altering or picking your spots to remove the scabs and dissect what’s wrong. Theres never any praise for anything that he did right. He hasn’t done anything. But, he’s moving the team in a better direction. they picked the proper coach, maybe even Caleb Williams will be improved this year? You can only hope but for you… When they have success this year, all these threads with your name on it will be crickets. Because you’ll sit on the sidelines, and wait for your chance for when something goes wrong and then you’ll appear out… Read more »
This article is an embarrassment to the Warren if true. This is exactly how you don’t hire a person. You don’t have people from accounting, HR, or other non football people advising you which candidate to take. Ted Phillips wasn’t asked? Shame. Fortunately, I believe they put on a show for NFL diversity, and the fan base but they kept it simple. All in on Johnson and do interviews with others in case Ben does not buy in.
Seneca lovers: Are we talking about Reactionary impulse to non-existent, imaginary issues?