Coaching candidates could have questions for GM Ryan Poles about Bears' core talent

As the Bears continue to meet with candidates for their head-coaching vacancy, general manager Ryan Poles is sure to get a lot of questions. Top candidates like Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson might have their choice of multiple offers, and they’ll scrutinize whether the Bears give them the best opportunity to win soon and sustainably.

“All of these interviews go both ways,” president Kevin Warren said. “It's not only us interviewing the candidates, but it's the candidates interviewing us.”

Those conversations could get uncomfortable for Poles after a year in which the Bears believed they were bound for the playoffs, but were out of the race by Thanksgiving and finished 5-12.

There will be discussion about obvious roster issues, such as the need to replace most of the offensive and defensive lines this offseason, and whether the Bears have enough draft picks and salary-cap space to attack those urgently. But candidates also might question whether the Bears’ core is as strong as Poles thinks it is.

That’s a tougher problem to solve.

The Bears’ biggest cap hits for next season are defensive end Montez Sweat ($25.1 million), wide receiver DJ Moore ($24.9 million), cornerback Jaylon Johnson ($21 million), linebacker Tremaine Edmunds ($17.4 million), tight end Cole Kmet ($11.6 million) and running back D’Andre Swift ($9.3 million).

Of that group, which accounts for a little more than 40% of Over The Cap’s projected salary cap of $272.5 million, only Johnson earned a Pro Bowl selection this season. Cornerback remains the Bears’ strongest unit, but few other aspects of the roster looked ready to contend this season.

At wide receiver, for example, Moore was near his career low in yards per game at 56.8 and caused issues at times with pouty body language. Rookie Rome Odunze was impressive, but still needs more development. Keenan Allen turns 33 before next season and probably doesn’t fit the Bears’ plans.

So if Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, who is the No. 2 receiver on his team and would be on many others, is available in free agency, would he shoot to the top of the Bears’ pecking order the moment he arrived at Halas Hall?

And therein lies the difference between good and Bears-good. Yes, the trio of Moore, Odunze and Allen was better than what the Bears had fielded for the last several seasons, but it was not on par with the best wide receiver groups in the NFL.

Kmet finished 22nd among tight ends in catches (47), 25th in yards (474) and 12th in touchdowns (four). His receptions and yardage were his lowest since his rookie season. Usage is an issue there, as Kmet was 29th with 55 targets, and that could go up as quarterback Caleb Williams develops.

Poles went all-in on Sweat, first trading a second-round pick (No. 40 overall), then signing him to a four-year, $98 million extension that carries the seventh-highest cap hit among pass rushers for next season. With little help from the rest of the defensive line, Sweat finished 60th in the NFL with 5 1/2 sacks.

The Bears hoped Sweat would be a game-wrecker on his own and create opportunities for any defensive end they paired with him, like Khalil Mack did for them, but it turns out he’s going to need a running mate. And they don’t come cheaply at that position.

Poles saved money by offloading linebacker Roquan Smith and signing Edmunds instead, but was that worth it? Smith, still just 27, appears to have been worth every penny of the five-year, $100 million deal the Ravens gave him — the Bears got Edmunds for four years, $72 million—and he’s been a first-team All-Pro selection all three seasons with them.

Swift was another overly cost-conscious acquisition for a team flush with cap space, and he was not the playmaking running back the Bears needed behind a struggling offensive line. He averaged a career-low 3.8 yards per carry, and 19% of his carries were for no gain or lost yardage.

“Things aren’t always going to be perfect,” interim coach Thomas Brown said of run-blocking issues with the offensive line. “The best backs are the ones that can create for themselves.”

The nucleus on offense is Williams, offensive tackle Darnell Wright, Moore, Odunze, Kmet and Swift. On defense it’s Sweat, Edmunds, Johnson, nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker, assuming Brisker is a long-term piece despite concussion issues.

Williams is the most pivotal player, and it’s likely no coach would even consider the Bears if he didn’t have a rosy outlook on his potential, but Williams and a cast with question marks might not sway a coach who could go elsewhere and build his own core through the draft and free agency.