Ryan Poles knew around Christmas that Ben Johnson was the guy he wanted as the next Chicago Bears head coach. He and team president Kevin Warren had extensively researched the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions. His reputation as a playcaller spoke for itself, and his personality as a leader soon became apparent as well. However, the Bears GM knew he faced a serious challenge. If he wanted to lure Johnson to Chicago, the two would need to candidly discuss what happened over the past three years.
A team doesn’t go 5-12 in the third year of a rebuild without something going wrong. Sure, a big part of it was picking the wrong head coach in Matt Eberflus. That said, Poles couldn’t duck responsibility for some questionable roster decisions he’s made. According to Albert Breer of the MMQB, the Bears GM met with Johnson 1-on-1 during their interview last week. In it, Poles didn’t beat around the bush. He was up front that he’d made some clear mistakes during the first few years in charge.
First, in Poles, Johnson saw a guy who was exceptionally smart, and had made plenty of mistakes, as most folks do in a new job, over his first three years—and, as such, knew what not to do. The first part of Johnson’s Chicago interview was one-on-one with Poles, and Poles was sincere with Johnson about his early missteps, and his desire to have a coach with strong convictions and go find the right players for that coach.
Ryan Poles knows he can hide from his missteps.
Fans have made sure of that. Trading for Chase Claypool, signing Nate Davis, and drafting Velus Jones are likely the three that stand out the most. His nickel-and-dime approach to the offensive line probably isn’t viewed with much reverence as well. Part of the issue has been too much of a focus on physical traits and not enough on football character. Claypool and Davis are perfect examples. Both are big guys and tremendous athletes. They’re also both seriously lacking in work ethic and passion for the game.
It is clear things must change going into this off-season. Ryan Poles made sure to convey that understanding to Johnson. The two would collaborate in the evaluation process moving forward. Don’t be surprised if they focus more on accomplished football players than good athletes. Ryan Pace had the same issues when he first took over ten years ago. It took a few years for him to get away from prioritizing athleticism over proven commodities. Poles seems on the same track.
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Critics of Ryan Poles point to the Chase Claypool and Nate Davis free agent signings and failure to adequately improve the trenches. Both of these men were gifted athletes yet as we learned after they arrived is that they lacked passion for the game and good work ethics. I’m super excited about Ben Johnson coming onboard to be the Bears next head coach and I think he will prove to be helpful to Ryan Poles in acquiring the right kind of players we need to compete in the NFC North. I’m very optimistic about this change in leadership and the… Read more »
Poles accepted that he made a few mistakes, what’s so earth shattering there? I have often argued that Poles running the player acquisition exclusively has not looked great. His OLine being his biggest issue by drafting only Wright and Amegadgie ahead of the punter in 4th round last year. That’s in all 3 years of the draft!! . So that deserves to be called out and I’m glad he’s self aware that he needs a partner. I think it’s safe to assume that the next couple of off seasons redoing to be Johnson heavy influence in draft and free agency.… Read more »
I read the comments on this site for three months leading up to my study before commenting. I remember the derogatory terms used by two or three eventual “Lions” to describe the eventual clan of “Hyenas” before I wrote on this site (Phase 1). I am now convinced that they were totally correct. As a matter of fact, some that I thought were not in that category as so-called “Moderates” were really sleeper agents and are actually smarter but more deceptive hyenas. So, I could provide you with my top 5 but shall wait, until asked. A few of them… Read more »
Starting today, let this record reflect my acceptance of Ryan Poles working with Ben Johnson. Due to the admission of Ryan Poles, I can no longer criticize him, this is a game changer. I’m confident that Coach Johnson will have the lion share of decision making when it comes to player acquisitions, with that said, I accept Ryan Poles from this day forward, no more calling for his head.
I stand corrected, i do see at least 1 Ryan Poles nut sack holder here but he’s acting like the point of this article is about something else, he doesn’t even mention Ryan Poles, some folks can’t admit when there wrong even with irrefutable evidence in their face.