(670 The Score) New Bears general manager Ryan Poles didn’t mince words when asked about the primary flaws in the organization that need fixed by his regime.
“It’s expectations,” Poles said on the Laurence Holmes Show on Monday afternoon shortly after he was introduced in a press conference at Halas Hall. “It’s expectations around here. It’s the standard. That’s got to be lifted. And then for me, in terms of player acquisition, we’ve got to build the most competitive roster in the league. When guys are competitive and fighting for their jobs, that’s when you get the best out of them. We all do. That kind of pressure is good to have. So that’s where we’re going to start – just bringing in really good players that fit what we do. I think we can get there. I know we can get there.”
The Bears are coming off a 6-11 season and have won just one NFC North title in the past 11 seasons. Poles joins the Bears after previously working for the Chiefs for 13 seasons. Kansas City has won six straight AFC West crowns and has been to the AFC Championship Game in four straight seasons.
Poles understands it will be a big challenge to lead the Bears to such heights, but he’s happy to get to work on the task.
“The first thing that you could feel was they were hungry,” Poles said of his interview with chairman George McCaskey and the Bears’ five-person search team. “They were hungry to get thing back on track and raise the level of play and raise the standard in terms of being a championship-level team. You could feel that. And then the other thing is when you walk around the building, the resources are here. They’ve poured a lot money and time and effort into this building to allow us to do our job at a high level, and it means a lot to them. That stood out to me, and that got me excited.”