The Minnesota Vikings were ready to rebuild in 2022, and they had their guy. The Vikings had just spun their wheels since Kirk Cousins signed his second contract in Minnesota, and, after firing Rick Spielman, they needed someone who could push them over the top.
Today, we know that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah took the Vikings job. But back then, the Vikings wanted Ryan Poles.
Part of the regime that rebuilt the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive line after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense tossed Patrick Mahomes around during Super Bowl LV, Poles was the belle of the ball for any team looking for a new general manager. However, when ownership expressed a desire to be “super competitive” in their new era, Poles decided to put the Vikings on the back end of his tour and took the job with the Chicago Bears.
Three seasons later, Poles and Adofo-Mensah are still connected at the hip. And as Poles received a contract extension on Friday, the Bears have continued to help the Vikings get where they are today.
It’s interesting to consider where the Vikings might be if the Poles had taken the job in Minnesota. One of the reasons he preferred the Bears was that his idea to douse the roster in gasoline and light it on fire wasn’t exactly what the Wilfs wanted. When he got to Chicago, the housecleaning began, ripping everything to the studs and saddling the Bears with a 3-14 record.
The pain helped Chicago earn the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and Poles cashed in when David Tepper urged the Carolina Panthers to trade up for Bryce Young. A treasure chest full of draft picks and D.J. Moore later, the Bears were not only able to upgrade some of their infrastructure with offensive tackle Darnell Wright and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Carolina’s first-round selection in 2024 wound up being the No. 1-overall pick, which allowed Chicago to select Caleb Williams.
Williams had been hailed as the draft’s best prospect since Patrick Mahomes and was anointed the franchise’s savior before he played a snap. While Williams has the natural ability to succeed, the Bears botched the one area the Vikings have mastered – the infrastructure around their QB.
Matt Eberflus was tapped to be the head coach of the Bears at the beginning of the Poles era, and the duo slogged through two and a half seasons. While Chicago showed signs of progress with five wins in their final eight games in 2023 and a 4-2 start last season, things unraveled quickly as the Bears went on a 10-game losing streak.
The Bears fired Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. They were lifeless until they scored a Week 18 win over the Green Bay Packers. They brought in Ben Johnson and gave him a five-year, $65 million contract to address the issue. The offseason activities period was just as much about body language as it was learning a new playbook.
Poles has created quite the mess in his first three seasons in Chicago. But it would have been interesting had he landed in Minnesota.
The Vikings chose to run it back in the first season under Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell, and the duo led Minnesota to a 13-4 record. While it ended in a first-round playoff loss, it may have never happened if Poles had started the excavation process immediately.
If the Vikings wound up with a 4-13 record, they may have been on the radar of a hyperactive owner trying to revive his football team. The trade could have helped build the infrastructure, but it also would have been led by someone other than O’Connell.
That could have led the Vikings to a path where Williams is their quarterback of the future instead of J.J. McCarthy, but they wouldn’t be the destination they are today. Minnesota could have had the cap room to go crazy in the free-agent market like they did this offseason, but they likely would have had to pay a tax to get players like Aaron Jones, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Jonathan Allen into the building.
Even Ryan Kelly and Javon Hargrave took short-term deals to join the Vikings. Meanwhile, the Bears shelled out for trades involving Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney and gave center Drew Dalman a three-year, $42 million contract in free agency.
It’s a different situation compared to the world we live in now. By accepting the job at a Chicago steakhouse, Poles altered the NFC North — but not in the way he thought. Someone who vowed to “take the North and never give it back” hasn’t even had a division title in his reach, with a record of 15-36. Still, he somehow managed to earn a five-year contract extension on Friday afternoon.
That’s a money grab that would have impressed the quarterback Poles would have inherited in Minnesota, but it leaves the Vikings laughing all the way to the bank. Given they’re 34-17 since hiring Adofo-Mensah, the Bears did Minnesota a giant favor and continue to increase the importance of a reference point for two franchises.