Kevin Warren told the media after Thanksgiving that the initial plan was for GM Ryan Poles to stay in place and lead the upcoming search for a new head coach. Most of the national media has run with those comments since then, offering every indication that Poles is safe. However, there has been one notable outlier. Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron, who’s had strong sources in and around the team for years, insisted that Poles’ job was anything but secure. He believes there is a very real possibility he will get fired on Monday.
He first mentioned it on his Bears Banter podcast. This time, he chose to put it in writing, adding some extra details along the way. This isn’t just guesswork. He’s heard enough rumbles from people he trusts to believe Warren is far from committed to bringing Poles back.
I do not think that’s necessarily the case. I have heard enough to know that Kevin Warren is evaluating Ryan Poles and there’s enough there for me to believe that his ground isn’t necessarily solid and he may not return as GM. I am not reporting that he will be fired, I simply think it’s a much higher possibility than many in the media believe is the case.
We may not hear that Ryan Poles is “safe” or is receiving an extension, but if we don’t hear that Poles is fired by the end of the night on Monday, you can take that as an expectation that he will remain in Chicago moving forward.
Ryan Pace received an extension from the Bears on the day after the regular season ended in 2017. That was confirmation he would lead the search for the next coach.
The Bears owner personally hired Poles, which offers every indication that he is the staunchest defender of the GM staying put. Don’t forget McCaskey also kept Pace after only 14 wins between 2015 and 2017. If he got a crack at a second coach, why shouldn’t Poles? That will be the reasoning. Warren must be able to cut through all of that to get to the heart of the matter. Poles has failed on too many fronts. In three years of roster building, he hasn’t been able to produce a single homegrown Pro Bowler. His construction of the Bears offensive line deserves widespread criticism, and he signed off on hiring Matt Eberflus.
What exactly has he done to justify keeping his job? The team has not gotten better since he took over. Kevin Warren isn’t stupid. He likely sees the same things fans and media have seen. Will he put personal relationships aside to make the big decision? That remains to be seen. This could end up being a demonstration of how much power he actually has. Moving on from Poles would be an unmistakable signal that Warren runs the show now.
