Everybody knew Matt Eberflus was gone even before the moment finally arrived after Thanksgiving last year. What Chicago Bears fans didn’t know was whether GM Ryan Poles would join him. Many wanted him gone after watching the Eberflus debacle, not to mention his backward way of building the roster, with not enough attention being paid to the offensive and defensive lines. Nate Davis? Chase Claypool? It was hard to overlook his biggest mistakes as the season spiraled out of control.
As the was happening, sources revealed to SM that another team sent out feelers to the Bears about Poles’ availability. It isn’t entirely clear which one it was, but there is speculation it was the New York Jets, who had interest in Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy. It didn’t happen. The Bears made it clear Poles was staying and the interest died away. It is fascinating to think how different things might’ve turned out had the McCaskeys and team president Kevin Warren opened that door.
Ryan Poles didn’t want to leave.
While he was frustrated by how bad the season turned out, the Bears GM never made it seem like he wanted out. He had already been formulating plans for what to do at head coach and how to retool the roster this off-season. Once everybody was on the same page, he hit the ground running last month. After an extensive search and interview process, Ryan Poles got his big fish. Chicago secured Ben Johnson, the architect of Detroit’s league-best offense, as their new head coach. They’ve since assembled an excited new staff and await the scouting combine with plenty of possibilities in front of them. If things work out as hoped, Poles choosing to stay rather than finding the exit door may end up becoming a key moment in Bears history.
@Dr. Steven Sallie Decision-making can be a personality trait, or an organizational-trait. Historically, we have seen ample evidence that for the Bears, bad decision-making was a historical trait. It is extremely difficult to change a culture, and organization and a people. If you have the background you claim, you know this. Changing a culture that believes the world is flat, may take centuries until you can put a man in the moon to look back at Earth. Before you gain acceptance. Getting a job, even an elevated job of “general manager,” has expectations. Some of those expectations is to “not… Read more »
Ryan Poles, as a first time, “rookie” GM, knew that he might never get another chance to actually do a head coach search. Veteran GM’s can “get their guy,” but usually, they hire head coaches they know personally, and often they are good, but not great (look at Mike Tomlin’s hiring of Arthur Smith). After the abject failure of Eberflus and staff, the offensive coordinator choices of Eberflus, Poles must have known everything rode on a single procurement, a single decision. The huge number of considerations and large numbers of interviews may only have been “due diligence” to find someone… Read more »
Another NFL team showed interest in failed GM Poles? I seriously doubt it. You mean like another NFL team was willing to give up a first rounder for QB Fields? I doubted it.
Maybe he likes the paychecks.
Will this tempting story, whether true or not, bring out TGena into this matter?
Only time will tell.