This was nothing like the end-of-season news conference Bears general manager Ryan Poles would’ve imagined when training camp opened six months ago and he believed his rebuild would soon culminate in a playoff run.
Instead, Poles was under fire Tuesday for errors that led to a devastating season in which the Bears plunged through a 10-game losing streak, fired their head coach and offensive coordinator and finished 5-12.
And now, the one who made this mess in large part by the bad hire of coach Matt Eberflus and signing off on assistants like Luke Getsy, Alan Williams and Shane Waldron, is in charge of cleaning it up by leading the Bears’ fifth coaching search in the last 13 offseasons.
Poles stood alone at the microphone as president Kevin Warren and chairman George McCaskey watched from the side of the room. He took accountability, but kept it mostly vague. He talked about needing to “look in the mirror” and review past hiring processes to identify his missteps without specifying much of what he intended to correct.
“You gain wisdom every single year and in every single experience that you go through, and that helps you make better decisions as you go,” Poles said.
General manager of an NFL team is not supposed to be that much of a learn-on-the-fly job, however.
Poles said some differences will be casting a wider net with more candidates than in past hirings, being more thorough in researching their background and “knowing the team... better than I ever have before.”
It’s reasonable to insist that he should have been doing those things all along and assert that if he had, he’d have a better record than 15-36.
The Bears have requested interviews with more than a dozen candidates, and that number could grow. Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, whom the Bears interviewed and bypassed for coordinator a year ago, and champion coach Pete Carroll are not yet on the list.
“There's going to be some names that are going to surprise you, because we're digging deeper than we ever have before,” Poles said.
It’s strange that the pool is so vast when they’ve had nearly six weeks since firing Eberflus to do homework and sharpen their focus, but Poles explained, “There’s some intriguing candidates that we want to talk to.”
The search will ramp up with former Titans coach Mike Vrabel expected to interview Wednesday and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, the NFL’s most coveted candidate, to interview between Thursday and Saturday.
When they and others talk to the Bears, it will be to a Poles-led, six-person committee that includes McCaskey, Warren, director of football administration Matt Feinstein, senior director of player personnel Jeff King and executive vice president and chief human resources officer Liz Geist.
Poles said assistant general manager Ian Cunningham won’t be involved while he presumably pursues GM openings elsewhere. If he’s returning to the Bears, he’ll join the process.
Poles said the organization won’t use outside consultants other than to assist with conducting background research.
McCaskey brought in Bill Polian last time he needed to hire a general manager and coach, the quest that led the Bears to Poles and Eberflus, and Ernie Accorsi before that. When asked if Polian would be involved this time, McCaskey deferred and said only, “If Ryan wants him to, that’s fine with me.”
As candidates advance, they’ll meet with other Bears executives as part of Warren’s vision to blend business and football departments.
Ultimately, though, it’s Poles’ call and his career ambitions on the line. McCaskey and Warren aren’t going to fire themselves if this doesn’t work out.
It’d be easier to be confident in Poles if he'd given substantive answers on why he got it so wrong with Waldron or why he stuck with Eberflus as long as he did. A firm grasp of his misjudgments is absolutely vital to ensuring he doesn’t repeat them.
