On the eve of the Bears’ 2024 season, general manager Ryan Poles wasn’t just happy with the roster improvements he had made, he was proud of them.
“I’m proud of the process that we’ve set up,” Poles said. “It’s not just about acquiring the best talent, it’s about acquiring the right talent. I think that’s what you see in this building. It’s special. The group of guys — it’s really special.”
One 5-12 season later, Poles had to acknowledge the harsh reality that his roster loaded with the right people was part of the problem almost as much as the solution. Not only did cornerback Tyrique Stevenson going rogue lead to the season’s worst moment — the Hail Mary debacle against the Commanders — but with all the leadership and culture and kumbaya chemistry of the good-guy locker room Poles built, the Bears never recovered.
They responded with a dud against the Cardinals in which the defense that was so determined to atone for the Hail Mary failure allowed a 53-yard rushing touchdown by Cardinals back-up running back Emari Demercado in the final seconds of the first half. They responded to that dud by losing to the 2-7 Patriots 19-3 at Soldier Field.
And on and on it went — 10 consecutive losses before a 24-22 victory over the Packers, who were without quarterback Jordan Love, wide receiver Christian Watson and running back Josh Jacobs in the second half.
The Bears lauded their resilience — they never quit, they said. But as it turned out, the Bears needed more than a group of players who get along and show up for work every day under difficult circumstances. And even Poles had to acknowledge that a team with eight captains had a leadership issue.
“We definitely will take this into consideration as we add more talent to the roster,” Poles said when asked if the locker room needed more leadership. “I’ve also challenged, in some of our exit meetings, some of our guys to take the next step to lead as well.”
The Bears needed one of those locker room placards, like “Play Like A Champion Today” or “Those Who Stay Will Be Champions” — only with a more real message: “If You See Something, Say Something.” This team didn’t do that.
“I was in the same category and some of our guys were, too, in terms of, ‘I saw this … should I say something about this? Should I step up?’” Poles said. “And I encouraged all those guys [that] we’ve got to get to this place. We’ve been together long enough. There’s been continuity. We aren’t going to take things personally anymore, amongst each other, both in the front office and football operations, but also in the locker room and in coaching.
“We’ve got to be able to have healthy friction to say, ‘Hey, that’s not the way we’re supposed to do it.’ Let’s clean it up and get better, because that will show up later in the season.”
The Bears had eight captains, but nobody who would step up and challenge teammates like cornerback Jaylon Johnson challenged Matt Eberflus after the Lions game at Ford Field. Their captains were either too young or too new or just not the Type-A personality that didn’t care what teammates thought of him — rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, Johnson, wide receiver DJ Moore, safety Kevin Byard, tight ends Cole Kmet and Mercedes Lewis and linebackers T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds.
(Interestingly, the player who most actively and publicly assumed a leadership role — third-year safety Jaquan Brisker — was not chosen as a captain.)
It’s a tricky spot for Poles. Upgrading the offensive and defensive lines can be done in free agency and the draft. But he has the locker room character he wants, and from a leadership standpoint it failed him in 2024. It’s not enough to have good players that teammates admire and respect. The Bears need leaders — or a leader — that teammates will follow.
