Ryan Poles Made Surprising Revelation About Bears OC Search
The Chicago Bears didn’t make sweeping changes to the coaching staff, but changes are happening. Pretty much the entire offensive side of the ball was gutted. Luke Getsy and most of his assistants were dismissed from the team. Only offensive line coach Chris Morgan and tight ends coach Jim Dray survived. Head coach Matt Eberflus made it clear the decision to move on was his—Getsy’s inability to develop more young talent, along with the continued ineffectiveness of the passing game. However, there might be an added wrinkle to this, thanks to GM Ryan Poles.
While he trusts Eberflus to continue running the team, it appears the pursuit of the next offensive coordinator will be a more…collaborative effort. In other words, he plans to be more involved in the process than he was two years ago. During the Bears’ recent press conference, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times picked up on that.
We might already be seeing his influence. Reports surfaced late Wednesday night that the Bears requested permission to speak with Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. This may indicate their desire to target more proven names.
Ryan Poles may not trust Eberflus to get it right.
He has every right to feel that way. Two years ago, he gave the Bears’ head coach free rein to do whatever he wanted. Eberflus hired a staff that was overrun with lots of inexperience. It was a puzzling decision since he is a defensive head coach. One would think he’d target guys with more proven backgrounds. That miscalculation almost cost him his job. Now with Poles entering a critical phase of his own job security, he has no intention of letting Eberflus screw this up a second time. He plans to be involved in every step.
The Waldron revelation suggests they will be reaching out to coordinator options that have done it before. One has to think Eric Bieniemy and Kellen Moore could receive phone calls. Both will likely be free agents within the next week. Darrell Bevell in Miami is another possibility. Ryan Poles has demonstrated a strong eye for capable people in the past. One can imagine team president Kevin Warren may help as well. He has bountiful connections. The Bears understand the urgency of this hire.