LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) – In an offseason that will once again be marked by change at Halas Hall, the Bears are standing by general manager Ryan Poles as he and the team embark on a coaching search.
“I trust him,” president Kevin Warren said Tuesday after Poles addressed the future of the franchise in a press conference. “And he's a hard worker, he's young, he's talented, he's curious. I think his greatest attribute, he's willing as he did just in the press conference to raise his hand and say here's some things where he fell short. He's as hard on himself more than anyone could be hard on him. And he strives every single day to do the right thing and I think one of the things in life I encourage Ryan and others is to be self-reflective, which has been good. And I think that's one of the things I've noticed throughout the season.
“He's reflecting on what he can do to continually be the leader that I know he is, and he will continually grow to be a great leader. And he's passionate about it. He cares. He's not here just for all the accoutrements of being a general manager in the league. He wants to win. He loves this franchise. He's passionate about the Chicago Bears and he's going to do everything he can.”
Poles owns a record of 15-36 in leading the Bears over three seasons. He inherited an aging roster when he was hired in January 2022 and soon embarked on a teardown and rebuild in which losing was expected early on in the process.
The Bears went 3-14 in 2022, which was the worst record in franchise history.
Chicago made progress by going 7-10 in 2023 but then failed to live up to expectations in 2024, when it went 5-12 and fired head coach Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29. That marked the first time in franchise history that the Bears fired a head coach in the middle of a season.
The Bears declined to reveal whether Poles has been awarded a contract extension as he’s under contract through 2025. Poles does plan to address that topic with coaching candidates in interviews.
“Ryan has the benefit of his experience,” McCaskey said. “And he has the benefit of the guidance from Kevin, who has been through this process before. So, we're hoping for a better result.
“We liked his leadership. We liked the staff that he’s assembled. He has a couple people on his staff – Ian Cunningham and Jeff King – who probably should be general managers for another NFL team. The communication has been excellent. And he’s in a business where in the player personnel department there are going to be hits and there are going to be misses.
“The key is you have to have more hits than misses, so that is the challenge for him and for his staff.”
As the Bears go about hiring a new head coach, their current vertical organizational structure will remain in place, McCaskey said. The head coach will report to Poles, who reports to Warren, who reports to McCaskey.
Poles is the fourth general manager to serve in the position in McCaskey’s tenure. The Bears’ next head coach will be the sixth to carry that full-time title since 2011.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on X @CEmma670.