These days, Bears general manager Ryan Poles finds himself in a tough spot.
A once-promising season where the Bears were 4-2 following the demolition of the Jacksonville Jaguars in London has completely disintegrated following the bye with a demoralizing Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders.
Since then, he has fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and head coach Matt Eberflus.
With Thomas Brown named as an interim head coach following Thanksgiving, the team was hoping that the players would respond positively to Brown's energy and leadership. But Sunday's blowout loss in San Francisco completely wiped out any hopes of a new coach bump as they were let down massively by the players Poles acquired throughout his tenure. With both Waldron and Eberflus gone, Poles finds himself solely in the hot seat.
This came up on the podcast. So I’ll add it here, too: Matt Eberflus got a 5-year contract; Ryan Poles has a 4-year deal.
The Bears signed Ryan Pace to an extension before he started his HC search that ended with Matt Nagy.
To my knowledge, Poles hasn’t been extended yet.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) December 9, 2024
Was George McCaskey doing a favor for Bill Polian, a former Colts executive, by hiring Eberflus, a former Colts defensive coordinator, and giving him a longer contract after asking him to lead the head coaching search? Either way, this looks like another classical blunder made by McCaskey.
If Sunday's result against the 49ers were any indication, the case for firing Poles rather than extending him has gained momentum.
Even with the trade with the Carolina Panthers that netted Caleb Williams, the negatives are starting to outweigh the positives. Bringing back Eberflus this season was a total disaster as was the hiring of Shane Waldron, who did not even last a season. Other notable blunders like overestimating the offensive line he assembled, the release of Nate Davis, and regression shown by players like Tyrique Stevenson and Tremaine Edmunds have become tough to ignore.
Now, Kevin Warren is tasked to break the vicious cycle, as McCaskey continues to fail to align the general manager, head coach, and quarterback on the same timeline. Either Poles is extended and is on the same contract length with the new head coach, or the Bears will need to move on from his as their general manager at the end of the season.
Either decision will not be well received by the fans. But Warren has convinced McCaskey to move on from Eberflus mid-season. Despite objections from fans, Warren should be given the opportunity to align both the head coach and general manager correctly for the sake of Williams' future.