Chicago Bears tab Ryan Poles as next general manager

The Chicago Bears have concluded their search for a new general manager on Tuesday as Kansas City Chiefs executive Ryan Poles has agreed to become the next Bears’ new general manager. Poles first interviewed with the Bears last Friday, and after being picked up by team chairman George McCaskey from O’Hare Airport on Monday, finalized the deal on Tuesday morning.

Now that the Bears have Poles in place as general manager, the team can now focus on finding a new a head coach. Prior to naming Poles as their general manager, the Bears had identified Jim Caldwell, Matt Eberflus, and Dan Quinn as the candidates for their head coaching interviews. All three candidates have reportedly been scheduled for a second interview with the team this week. Presumably, Poles will now be a part of their interviews.

Poles, however, may already have his head coach candidate in mind. ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting that Caldwell is at Halas Hall and there is a sense growing around the league that the Bears will pair the 36-year old Poles with the veteran head coach in Caldwell.

Pairing a young general manager with a veteran head coach is a plan that the Bears have attempted previously. In 2015, the Bears paired a first time general manager in Ryan pace with a veteran head coach in John Fox. The moved backfired on the Bears as it was clear that Pace and Fox were never on the same page and that would be the reason why the coach was fired after the 2017 season. The Bears are risking that same mistake if they are preparing to force Caldwell on Poles.

Ryan Poles is going to draw comparisons to former Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace but Poles’ experience is a good sign for the team.

As for the hiring of Poles as the team’s general manager, the move is going to draw instant comparisons to the Bears’ hiring of Pace in 2015. Poles, with the Chiefs, held the same position that Pace had with the Saints prior to becoming the Bears’ general manager. Like Pace with Saints, the Chiefs are the only organization that Poles has been with. That is where the comparisons should stop.

While Poles has only been a part of the Chiefs’ organization, it is important to note that he experienced three different regimes during that timespan. Those regimes were Scott Pioli, formerly of the New England Patriots; John Dorsey, formerly of the Green Bay Packers; and Brett Veach, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles.

With Ryan Poles now officially confirmed to be the next general manager of the Chicago Bears, the focus now turns to finding the team’s next head coach.