Ryan Poles Is On The Hot Seat Now. Here Are 3 Reasons Why
The Chicago Bears suffered one of their worst defeats in a long time against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. It never felt like they were in the game, suffering ugly breakdowns on defense and once again having zero cohesion on offense. The 29-9 drubbing fell at the feet of head coach Matt Eberflus. He was responsible for preparing his team to play after that heartbreaking loss in Washington the week before. Instead, his team came out looking disinterested, discouraged, and out of gas. Almost everybody agrees his time with the organization runs short. The question now is whether Ryan Poles could join him.
Most would agree the Bears GM has done a good job rebuilding the roster after tearing everything down in 2022. He’s found talent for both sides of the ball, adding playmakers at almost every position. Unfortunately, some critical decisions may have sabotaged all of that work.
Ryan Poles doubled down by keeping Eberflus.
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. Coming into 2024, it was obvious the Bears were making a change at quarterback. That means Poles had a decision to make. Did he want to give the responsibility of developing the QB to Eberflus or start fresh with somebody new? After deliberation, he stayed the course with Eberflus. The belief was the team needed some continuity, and the head coach had shown improvement from the previous year, going 7-10 after 3-14 in 2022. Poles didn’t account enough for the late-game collapses, the iffy situational awareness, and the inability to elevate the offensive side of the ball.
He didn’t prioritize investing in the offensive line.
This part is rather shocking since Ryan Poles is a former offensive lineman. One would think he’d focus on that area all the time. Yet the reality is different. Since taking over two years ago, the Bears GM has invested one high draft pick in the offensive line. That was Darnell Wright. Everybody else has been a late-round pick (Braxton Jones), a free agent (Coleman Shelton and Nate Davis), or a holdover from the previous regime (Teven Jenkins). Of the seven 1st and 2nd round picks he has utilized since 2022, only one has gone to the offensive line. There is your explanation if you’re looking for a primary reason for limited improvement. Now Caleb Williams is on pace for 62 sacks.
The lack of homegrown star power remains a problem.
This last part isn’t so much a “decision” by Poles but more of a reality. Here is a question. How many players on the roster would you consider true stars? Jaylon Johnson and Montez Sweat come to mind on defense. D.J. Moore is probably the closest on offense. Know what they all have in common? Poles didn’t draft them. Johnson was inherited from the Ryan Pace era. Sweat and Moore were trade acquisitions. Great teams are built through the draft, and star power drives everything. Poles has found some good players. Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, Wright, Gervon Dexter, and Tyrique Stevenson come to mind. Yet none of them are superstars. Maybe Williams and Rome Odunze get there, but it won’t happen with this coaching staff who, again, was hired and kept by Poles.
Will George McCaskey fire the GM? Maybe. It feels unlikely at this moment. Pace got the chance to hire a second coach and his first three years were just as bad. Poles may get the same courtesy. Then again, Kevin Warren wasn’t here when he was hired. If ever there was a time for the team president to assert himself, this would be it.