Breaking Down the Ryan Poles Era: Examining the Good and the Bad

The Ryan Poles era has been full of ups and downs. He has served as the general manager for three years. In these three years, the Chicago Bears have a 15 and 36 record. With this rough record, fans have been left unsatisfied with the team. Many were left confused once the Bears gave him an extension to lock him in until 2029. The record may not show an accurate representation of the good he has done with the team. However, has he done enough to make up for all the lows under him?

The Lowlights

It would be foolish to overlook the record. These past three years have been incredibly rough for the team. There is one major component to it: the coaching. Week after week, it felt like the team was unraveling under former coach Matt Eberflus. There seemed to be a lack of leadership, as blame was thrown around in press conferences, and questionable decision-making. These decisions varied from issues with coordinators to poor in-game calls. While it may be unfair to place all the blame on the coaching staff, it is definitely a major source of the issue. 

Unfortunately, the talent was not always there for the Bears as well. Whether it was the way the players played or just the lack of star talent, the roster did not show up every week. This past offseason may have had some major moves, such as reshoring the interior of the offensive line and adding competition for the tackle position, but it was not the same story for other years. To start, some of the first moves were trading away key pieces of the defense. This includes Roquan Smith, Khalil Mack, and Robert Quinn. 

While draft picks were received, which resulted in some potentially promising players, and money was freed up, there was still a lot of talent given up. Again, the money and picks were not always used in the best ways. A few examples of this are trading a second-round pick for Chase Claypool, and multiple issues with third-round picks such as Velus Jones Jr. While it was nice to see him address the lack of weapons on the team at the time, it would have been better to see them pan out. These moves also cost the Bears high draft capital. 

The Highlights

It is only fair to see all the good Poles have done for the team as well. For starters, this offseason, he addressed the issue with coaching. He grabbed one of the hottest candidates in Ben Johnson, who has left fans optimistic for both the season and for their franchise quarterback, Caleb Williams, another of the key additions under Poles. One of the Poles’ biggest moves has been trading for DJ Moore. Many consider that trade to have changed the future of the Chicago Bears due to the package they received. 

In addition to these moves, Poles has completely reshaped the roster. This comes through the NFL Draft, where he has completely rebuilt the secondary and added depth players and stars such as Rome Odunze. Similar to the story with rebuilding the o-line, this 2025 offseason was one of his best successes, gaining the likes of Grady Jarrett and a strong draft class. Comparing this year's rosters to other ones in recent years, it's a night-and-day difference. With all of these successes, there is restored hope for 2025; however, that may not be enough to say this was a good move to extend him this early. Only time will tell if this will be a hit or a miss move.