When he took the Chicago Bears job, Ryan Poles knew what he was getting himself into. The team was old, expensive, and didn’t have enough draft capital to retool the roster on the fly. If he wanted to build this thing the right way, he’d have to do something most GMs dread: rebuild. To his credit, Poles didn’t hesitate with the decision. He immediately blew up the roster from top to bottom, trading or releasing everybody who wasn’t nailed down. Within a year, most of the lineup Ryan Pace built was gone.
Doing this comes with risks, especially in today’s era of football. Fans are far less patient with rebuilds than they were 40-50 years ago. They expect results within two or three years. If you can’t do it, then it’s time for changes. The Bears could’ve reached that decision in January, coming off a rough 5-12 campaign that saw them fire the head coach before the season ended. After deliberating on it, ownership decided to stay the course. They allowed Poles a chance to right the ship by hiring the next head coach.
His search led to offensive wizard Ben Johnson.
A few months later, the organization punctuated this with a contract extension for the GM. Most people think this is a nod of approval from ownership, which he doesn’t deserve. However, you’re missing the more important point.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Ryan Poles’ extension means he has Johnson’s trust.
One persistent belief during the coaching search was that if the Bears landed Johnson, it would come with assurances he’d have significant say on personnel decisions. Some thought that Chicago would keep Ryan Poles in place for a time and remove him later, allowing Johnson to bring in his own guy. While not the most ethical way to conduct business, it’s been done by other teams before. Poles’ extension kills that theory. It is confirmation that Johnson sees him as somebody he can trust and rely on. They operated well together in free agency and the draft. Poles got his contract once the team got the results they hoped for. This was as much a decision by Johnson as it was ownership.