Matt Eberflus isn’t around to shield Ryan Poles from public scrutiny anymore. Now, the focus of anger from fans and the media is directly on the Chicago Bears’ GM. Many are laying the blame for this season’s epic collapse at his feet. Poles hired Eberflus. He signed off on replacing Luke Getsy with Shane Waldron. He built this porous offensive line protecting Caleb Williams. For all the talk about not repeating the same mistakes made by previous GMs, Poles has fallen into the exact same traps.
That is why people aren’t excited about him leading the search for the next head coach. Why does he deserve that honor? What has he done to this point other than lose a lot of football games? We have a somewhat interesting update. For those who haven’t followed, SearSTower is a Twitter (X) handle that has delivered some accurate information about the Bears in recent weeks. It correctly stated that Eberflus would be fired after his morning conference following the Detroit game. It had some fascinating words about Poles’ status inside Halas Hall.
Essentially, it hinges on what the team’s preferred next head coach wants.
“However, and this is an extremely strong however which I don’t see happening, if the Bears primary HC candidate is uncomfortable working with Ryan, I expect them to fire Poles. I’m unsure how the optics of this would work is because you traditionally hire a GM first and let that GM pick their own HC. But I’ve been told that they will not hesitate firing Poles if it means being able to get the number one HC candidate on THEIR list. They would then hire a GM that aligns with their list and ordering. They will not let Ryan Poles prevent the Bears from getting the obvious first choice HC should someone clearly separate themselves from the group and does not want to work with Poles.”
Ryan Poles must prepare to answer some tough questions.
Fair or not, his fingerprints are all over this disaster. The Bears are in line to have their third-worst three-year stretch in franchise history if they fail to win another game this season. Poles will own the longest (14 games) and second-longest (8+ games) losing streaks in franchise history. Throw in the fact that he just fired his hand-picked head coach midseason, and you can understand why potential candidates would be reluctant to work with him. That doesn’t even include the fact he only has one year left on his contract.
If the Bears don’t win next year, what’s to stop them from firing Ryan Poles at that point? This would immediately put the prospective coach in a situation where they’ll soon work with a GM who didn’t hire them. Nobody with common sense wants to step into that kind of quagmire. That means Poles must work hard to sell them that he is secure in his position and can build the roster they want.
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This revelation does reveal one other thing, though. Kevin Warren is the man running the search. If it were actually Poles, there would be no danger of losing his job regardless of who they want. The fact he has to hope the top candidate likes him tells you all you need to know about the real power behind this.
Hey Erik —
Ryan Poles’ future actually does hinge on a single outcome — the survival of QB Caleb Sequan Williams “LLC” over the entire 2024 NFL season.
If Caleb Williams survives, GM and HC candidates will be plentiful.
A broken Williams would make Halas Hall a significantly less attractive place of employment.
[And so, the presence of rookie Kiran Amegadjie and his deficient friends on the Bears offensive line takes on a new, quite sinister undertone.]
Personally, I do not want a first-time HC. Offensive play caller-HC with a DC is the formula. Trade for a proven one, or go Vrabel. BJ worries me, he is a proven play-caller with a good roster, but I do not think he is HC material. Vrabel is a HC.
I said the same thing that SearSTower said, but I said it here, and about four days ago. Getting a HC and GM with the same vision is the top priority, and if Poles isn’t a fit with the best choice at HC, then he has to go. If it’s offensive coach or bust, then we’re looking at Ben Johnson and Joe Brady at the top of the list. Like that development. One of the best ways to be a ‘leader of men’ is to lead them to victory on a regular basis, and to snatch victory from the jaws… Read more »
It’s an old argument of the HC being able to pick his own groceries. Belichick, Pete, Shanny, Reid all have/had some form of say on the roster. New hires will have less say. If they are trying to bring in an established guy, that guy will want some say.
I wouldn’t want Ryan Millen to pick another WR in the top 10.
Simply a ludicrous process to keep Poles! Select the GM first or make Cunningham the Interim GM now, then pick the HC.