The TV broadcast of any NFL game includes a camera shot of each team’s general manager in his private stadium booth. Depending on how his season is going, a GM can look like the king of the universe or a teenager who’s just been called on in class.
These days, Bears general manager Ryan Poles looks like a trapped sophomore.
Another standard camera shot is of Bears quarterback Caleb Williams in various stages of distress, physical or mental or both.
The two shots are very much connected because Poles has put Williams in a terrible spot this season, with coaches who don’t know how to coach him and offensive linemen who don’t know how to block for him.
With the blessing of ownership, Poles fired head coach Matt Eberflus late last month. No one really expected things to change, though, and a six-game losing streak under Eberflus has grown to eight under interim coach Thomas Brown. The brain freezes that hurt the Bears under the former coach are continuing under the present one.
The common denominator in all of this is Poles, who helped hire Eberflus and built the roster that is letting down Williams, the top overall pick in this year’s draft.
Has anyone had as sudden a fall from grace as Poles? Three and a half months ago, he was the darling of fans and media for getting Williams and surrounding the rookie with talented receivers. Now he and the Bears can’t do anything right. They face the Lions on Sunday, and the forecast calls for a 95% chance of pain.
Poles’ descent has nothing to do with the fickleness of public opinion and everything to do with bad decision-making.
Never forget: He was the guy who said before the season that the offensive line had a chance to be special. He meant it, too, which should make Bears fans’ blood curdle. Williams has been sacked 58 times so far, the most in the league, though some have had to do with his habit of holding on to the ball too long. Getting sacked 58 times in 14 games is like walking across the Dan Ryan Expressway 58 times. One of these times, he’s not going to get up.
The Bears have had injuries on the offensive line, but injuries are not an excuse. Everybody gets injured in the NFL. The league is a NASCAR race with a crash every lap. Good rosters are built with the knowledge that injuries are sure to occur. Poles’ roster was built with the idea that rookie Kiran Amegadjie, a third-round pick from Yale, would be ready for his first NFL start if called upon, even if it came in a Monday night game in a loud domed stadium against a savage Vikings pass rush. He wasn’t.
A month ago, the Bears waived guard Nate Davis. Poles had given him a three-year, $30 million contract in March 2023. How bad must Davis have been if he couldn’t help this offensive line? And how bad does Poles’ decision to sign him look now? I’ll answer that: Very and very.
The McCaskeys, owners of the Bears, aren’t going to fire Poles now. They don’t want to look for a new general manager because it’s an uncomfortable exercise for them. The exercise would involve search firms and other cries for help that prove they don’t know much about football. They don’t like being uncomfortable.
But Poles’ leash got a little shorter with the firing of Eberflus. When things go bad in the NFL, coaches get sacrificed first. If the situation doesn’t improve, a GM eventually feels the glare of judgment — even in Chicago, though not as quickly as in other NFL cities.
The McCaskey family is the root cause of everything that’s wrong with the franchise, but that doesn’t absolve its employees of football wrongdoing. The Bears were supposed to be much better than 4-10 at this point in the season, and Williams was supposed to be a more polished quarterback at this point in the season. His 87.7 passer rating has allowed his critics to crow that he’s no better than Justin Fields. They’re wrong, but it’s hard to make that point over the din of an eight-game losing streak.
Poles is the tie that binds all this unpleasantness together. He was the Grand Architect when things were good. Now he’s the guy with the thought bubble above his head that reads, “Tell me again what a hammer is supposed to do?”
One of the announcers in the Bears’ Monday night embarrassment in Minnesota brought up the team’s ample cap room next season. How long have Bears fans been teased with the ample-cap-room promise? Ample 2024 cap room has got them an eight-game losing streak, and counting.
Here’s a suggestion: Use some of that ample cap room next year on some ample offensive linemen.
In the meantime, bring on the Lions and pray for Williams’ safety.
