The Chicago Bears haven’t made any move to indicate Ryan Poles won’t be the general manager of the team beyond this season. He is set to lead the search for a new head coach if that’s the case. Plenty of fans aren’t happy about this. Not only has Poles built a somewhat unimpressive roster, but he is the one who green-lit the hiring of Matt Eberflus three years ago. Why should anybody believe he’s learned lessons from that mistake? If he couldn’t identify the right guy once, there is no reason to think he will suddenly figure it out a second time.
Dianna Russini of The Athletic provided an update on the Bears’ coaching search as Black Monday approaches. According to her, the Bears are in line to meet with six candidates so far. Based on the names involved, it feels like confirmation that Poles is the one leading it. Why?
It is pretty clear, based on what happened three years ago, that he has a type.
The Bears are gearing up for their head-coaching search, and a few big names are already on their radar: Vrabel, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and Anthony Weaver, the Dolphins’ DC. GM Ryan Poles has been doing serious homework on these candidates, particularly Weaver.
Of the six names Russini mentions, four come from a defensive background and are characterized as hard-nosed leaders. It remains clear that Poles is still chasing the ghost of Lovie Smith.
When he hired Eberflus in 2022, he admitted that a lot of his criteria centered around finding somebody similar to Smith. The GM played for the former Bears head coach in 2008 and was taken by his leadership, accountability, and command of the locker room. The fact that Eberflus ran a similar scheme made it seem almost like kismet. It didn’t take long to realize the recently fired coach had none of Smith’s traits, especially holding players and himself accountable.
It is hard not to feel like Ryan Poles hasn’t given up the dream of resurrecting what Smith brought to the organization. Vrabel, Flores, Glenn, and Weaver all represent the exact same profiles. All the GM has to do is find the best leader among them. Never mind what it could mean for quarterback Caleb Williams’ development or the fact a defensive head coach hasn’t won a championship since 2018. Try as he might to carry the Bears into the future, Poles seems increasingly stuck in the past.
