Some Love for Ryan Poles - Bear Fans Only

[playthrough2001]

Poles is having a damn good offseason. It’s ok to acknowledge it. Jahns just did.

@ILoveDick you’re welcome too!

From Jahns at The Athletic:

“Ryan Poles has been praised before for his offseasons.

Who can forget what the Bears general manager did in 2023?

That year, Poles traded the first pick in the NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers for picks Nos. 9 and 61, a first-round pick in 2024, a second-rounder in 2025 and receiver DJ Moore. The Bears turned that haul into quarterback Caleb Williams, right tackle Darnell Wright, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, punter Tory Taylor and a player to be named in the second round this year.

And yet, this offseason feels different.

Everything feels like a win for Poles.

Of course, it all began with a loss or losses — a lot of them. In Poles’ third season in charge, the Bears lost 10 consecutive games in maddening, headline-grabbing ways. Firing coach Matt Eberflus became a major blemish on Poles’ resume, along with firing offensive coordinators Luke Getsy and Shane Waldron and dismissing defensive coordinator Alan Williams.

After three seasons, Poles’ teams had produced only 15 wins. The last season was by far the worst, too. It began with boundless optimism and human-interest stories on “Hard Knocks,” but all that ended on Thanksgiving in Detroit when cornerback Jaylon Johnson and others spoke up after another exasperating defeat. The following day, Eberflus became the first Bears coach to be fired during the season.

“Looking back at the season, we’re not happy with the results,” Poles said on Jan. 7. “It has been a long season where those Mondays have been very, very difficult to review after we have come up short.

“And I have to take responsibility as the leader of the football operation for that. And I also have to make sure that we find solutions to make sure that we don’t make that mistake again and we can continue to improve.”

Fifteen days later, the Bears introduced Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as their new head coach.

That became Win 1 for Poles this offseason. Johnson — who was by far the best offensive-oriented candidate available — wanted to work with Poles and coach Caleb Williams, the quarterback Poles drafted.

Wins 2-3 came last week. By trading for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, Poles got a head start on free agency, adding two starters to his roster, one of them an All-Pro and four-time Super Bowl champion.

Wins 3-5 came on Monday. By signing center Drew Dalman, the overhaul of the interior of the Bears’ offensive line was completed. By adding defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo and veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, Poles improved the depth and talent of the Bears’ defensive line.

With Johnson in place, it’s not surprising that the Bears invested in their offensive and defensive lines. Johnson benefited from having one of the best offensive lines in the NFL for the past three seasons. But he still needed Poles to make it happen, and the Bears GM deftly got ahead of the spending frenzy by trading for Jackson, who played for Johnson in Detroit, and Thuney, who has Hall of Fame credentials. Poles was the Chiefs’ executive director of player personnel when the team signed Thuney in free agency in 2021.

History tells us that we should know better. We know things don’t always work out as planned for the Bears — that free agents come and go because they fail more than they win. It’s the Bears. It happens again and again. You expect to be disappointed.

And yet, this offseason feels different than the others under Poles.

This year rivals 2018 when former GM Ryan Pace hired his offensive-mind coach in Matt Nagy, signed receivers Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel and tight end Trey Burton in free agency, drafted linebacker Roquan Smith, guard James Daniels, receiver Anthony Miller and defensive tackle Bilal Nichols, then traded for pass rusher Khalil Mack a week before the season.

The optimistic energy from that offseason turned into wins during the regular season and an NFC North title. The Bears had entered another phase under Pace and with Nagy in place. That team eventually lacked staying power, but Pace and Nagy’s Bears still won more than they lost (34-31 record) while advancing to the playoffs twice (0-2).

With Johnson hired, the Bears are entering a new phase under Poles, too. Johnson is different from Nagy. His five-year, $65 million contract says as much after he was part of three different hiring cycles. Last year, he removed himself from coaching searches. This year, the Bears hired him. There is also no debating who is calling plays, either. Johnson has three full seasons of experience doing it for one of the best offenses in the league.


This year, Poles is seemingly spending the Bears’ money more wisely, addressing needs that everyone sees, especially on the offensive and defensive lines. He might be doing what Johnson wants him to do, but he’s doing it tactfully and successfully. If the Bears are going to win this season, that will start up front — and that started this offseason with the moves made by Poles. The Bears still have the 10th, 39th and 41st selections in the draft to add more, too.

“I truly believe in the character and integrity of this man,” Johnson said of Poles during his introduction on Jan. 22 at Halas Hall. “We are going to be locked at the hip and connected every step of the way with all the decisions that are made.”

In a matter of weeks, that relationship turned into three new starters on the offensive line and more help on the defensive line. The Bears have new leaders in Thuney and Jarrett. If you’re optimistic about the Bears’ future under Johnson, then you’re optimistic about what Poles is doing this offseason despite the previous three years. And that’s OK. It does feel different than the past. Poles needed to have a good offseason, but he’s had a great one.”

Go ahead and applaud Bears GM Ryan Poles this offseason — he deserves itGo ahead and applaud Bears GM Ryan Poles this offseason — he deserves it

 

[playthrough2001]

Do you agree with Jahns? What can Poles do next to move the needle for you if you are or aren’t happy to this point?

Are there any free agents you’d still like to sign?

Do you want him to stand pat and possibly get a comp pick if Jenkins signs a deal over 5 million?

Would you wait until FAs don’t count against the comp pick formula to add anything else?

I’d like to see him address the slot receiver position with Elijah Moore. Does Tyler Lockett move the needle for anyone?

In the draft, I’m fortifying the lines through pick 72 and drafting a RB in round 5. I can see them taking a detour if a safety, RB, or TE is ranked higher on their board at any of the first four picks.

 

[Nelly]

Do you agree with Jahns? What can Poles do next to move the needle for you if you are or aren’t happy to this point?

Are there any free agents you’d still like to sign?

Do you want him to stand pat and possibly get a comp pick if Jenkins sign a deal over 5 million?

Would you wait until FAs don’t count against the comp pick formula to add anything else?

Poles deserves credit for recognizing the needs of this team and hitting them hard. He didn't just wait til free agency and cross his fingers but went and got what he needed in Thuney and Jackson to make sure he wasn't left out in the cold. You can certainly nitpick the guys he did get, particularly on defense, but we needed capable bodies in a big way and he got them.

I'm fine with him standing pat until the draft really. There's no positions left on the team where we're critically undermanned at anymore. Sure you can want a better #3 receiver, a new running back and so on but we've got 4 picks in the top 72 to address those, then there's always guys who are cut after the draft that you can pickup to shore up a position.

How quickly we forget that hiring Ben Johnson with Dennis Allen to run the defense is, by far, the biggest move of the offseason to improve this team.

 

[ZOMBIE@CTESPN]

Not really much he can do rn unless there is someone on trade market. This fa is weak af and saw how news fell off a cliff yesterday across the nfl signing people. It’s going to be mostly cheap deals going forward. I want poles to do the same thing he did in free agency for the draft commit to the trenches. If he did this day 1 this team wouldn’t be in such a sorry place like they’ve been for last 3 years.

 

[PrimeTime]

GM's can only do so much. They need to rely on their coaching staff to get info on what kind of player will fit their system and what position groups need help and which are adequate. Poles did a decent job acquiring defensive players primarily because Flus was knowledgeable on that side of the ball. Poles never really had a genuine offensive mind in the building. When Poles said they had a deep Oline roster last offseason he didn't come up with that on his own. He also had offensive coaches blowing smoke up his ass telling him the Oline was good to go. That alone should tell you how bad the coaching staff was last year. What we've seen over the past couple of weeks is just the beginning of what the future will look like with Poles and Ben being locked at the hip.

I don't care what position Poles selects with the 10th pic, whether it's RB, TE, WR, OL, or DL. This player needs to start day one and has to be a difference maker, no matter the position. A lot of people talk about the 2 2nd rd pic like they will be future starters or hole fillers. Any pic in the 40s should also be a day one starter.

 

[--CyBear--]

Do you agree with Jahns? What can Poles do next to move the needle for you if you are or aren’t happy to this point?

Are there any free agents you’d still like to sign?

Do you want him to stand pat and possibly get a comp pick if Jenkins signs a deal over 5 million?

Would you wait until FAs don’t count against the comp pick formula to add anything else?

I’d like to see him address the slot receiver position with Elijah Moore. Does Tyler Lockett move the needle for anyone?

In the draft, I’m fortifying the lines through pick 72 and drafting a RB in round 5. I can see them taking a detour if a safety, RB, or TE is ranked higher on their board at any of the first four picks.

I agree but how many off seasons do you need to win for it to stick? I do like when GMs accommodate their HCs but when you pick the wrong HC that picks the wrong coordinators etc, that can compound your troubles.

To be clear, I feel like this is back on the rails and Poles facilitating Johnson and Allen is a much better scenario than doing so for the previous regime... that he also reportedly hired.

 

[Noonthirtyjoe]

With all the top picks and money Poles has had to work with and things are just ok. Poles is just ok. I'm not impressed over all.

 

[GoDJtop10]

In my view, one of the jobs of Ryan Poles (or any GM) is to consult with their Head Coach (who consults with his DC and OC) on what players fit their vision. It then becomes the responsibility of Poles to consult with his front office team to acquire those players in a manner that fits into the team’s present and future financial structure.

My hope is that our new HC and coaching staff are better at identifying the talent that they want, opposed to our old HC and coaching staff. I am not absolving Poles of making mistakes, but I believe he attempted to give Flus what he asked for. We shall see how things go moving forward.

What I’d like moving forward is to use our first 3 draft picks on the offensive and defensive lines, sign a WR that’s willing to do the dirty work necessary so that DJ and Rome can shine, and to collect any future draft picks that we can.

 

[DefNextYear]

I think people generally give a GM too much credit/blame. They have a team of people feeding them info and they're taking calculated risks. If the risks play out, then they look like geniuses... if not, they look like idiots. Taking what limited information you can obtain on a human and projecting their behavior over the long term is very hard and nearly impossible. That's before you even get into the skillset fit and all that. That said, there's probably a handful of special guys running teams and maybe a few shit guys. The rest are just swappable dudes who all would probably have similar results.

I'm indifferent on Poles. If draft picks don't start hitting soon, I'll start trending toward negative. But for now, I think he's fine. I can live with or without him here.

 

[Forty-six]

I'm 50/50 on Poles at this point and this season is huge for him. We need at least two impact players from this draft, guys who step in an immediately contribute in a big way. Caleb and Rome both need to take a giant step forward this year. Wright needs to become a dominant OT. The OL needs to show dramatic improvement.

If those things happen we're going to say Poles is cooking. If little to none of that happens I think it's fair to question whether or not Poles knows how to build a team.

 

[playthrough2001]

So far everyone is being fair and balanced. It helps too that I’ve banned the morons that cheer for the Lions from this thread.

It helps us stay on topic. Plus, we don’t have to decipher what those cretins are trying to articulate.

 

[modo]

Do you agree with Jahns? What can Poles do next to move the needle for you if you are or aren’t happy to this point?

Are there any free agents you’d still like to sign?

Do you want him to stand pat and possibly get a comp pick if Jenkins signs a deal over 5 million?

Would you wait until FAs don’t count against the comp pick formula to add anything else?

I’d like to see him address the slot receiver position with Elijah Moore. Does Tyler Lockett move the needle for anyone?

In the draft, I’m fortifying the lines through pick 72 and drafting a RB in round 5. I can see them taking a detour if a safety, RB, or TE is ranked higher on their board at any of the first four picks.

This offseason, taken on its own, addressed exactly what the Bears needed.

Poles' stint with the Bears has to be looked at as a whole. Hopefully this shows growth on Poles' part.

 

[sevvy]

I like the moves in free agency they've made. I really hope it continues in the draft. Fortify the trenches.

Still hoping that the best move made this offseason was hiring Ben Johnson. That's gonna be the key to this team's success.

 

[Washington]

Poles is still an idiot. Damn near everyone on this board knew the OL and DL would suck last year and that he didn't give the trenches the proper focus. It took him watching the Super Bowl winner to finally have a revelation. He hired a terrible HC and then didn't fire him when he should have. It took a huge embarrassment on national TV for him to finally fire his hire and he failed in how he went about that. Now he had no choice but to overpay for some FAs and give up more draft capital to try to correct his mess. Poles completely failed CW in year 1 with the OL and coaching. I have no respect for Poles. I am totally afraid of what Poles will do with 3 high draft picks.

 

[dabears70]

Do you agree with Jahns? What can Poles do next to move the needle for you if you are or aren’t happy to this point?

Are there any free agents you’d still like to sign?

Do you want him to stand pat and possibly get a comp pick if Jenkins signs a deal over 5 million?

Would you wait until FAs don’t count against the comp pick formula to add anything else?

I’d like to see him address the slot receiver position with Elijah Moore. Does Tyler Lockett move the needle for anyone?

In the draft, I’m fortifying the lines through pick 72 and drafting a RB in round 5. I can see them taking a detour if a safety, RB, or TE is ranked higher on their board at any of the first four picks.

I'm all about giving Poles credit for what's been done so far this offseason. Has he taken at least some kind of advice from Ben Johnson and Dennis Allen on some of these free agents if not all of them? Of course he has and i think every GM does that for the most part. He's doing the work though and making the trades work for us.

I don't think Tev will get us any comp picks with already having 3 kinda high dollar signings with Dalman, Dayo and Jarrett though right?

No reason not to wait until prices come down now with already having every starting position locked down besides #3 WR.

For that i've been on the Elijah Moore and Rondale Moore train but now knowing how much Ben Johnson likes using his slot for blocking i'm thinking it'll be a Tim Patrick or another bigger WR that likes blocking which is fine but for the right price i'm still with either of the Moore's and wouldn't mind T.Lockett.

With RB i'm at the point now with take one with any pick besides #10 but i also see that taking Jeanty or Hampton at #10 after this offseason we've had so far isn't crazy. Also like Tyler Warren at #10.

 

[mattb78]

No GM in Bears history has had such high draft capital and gotten so little out of it. He is 15-36 over 3 seasons. Anyone who thinks Poles is a good GM is an idiot.

 

[onebud34]

If the GM listens to his HC for roster moves, it goes to show that Flus was pretty incompetent.

 

[Salvaged Ship]

Love the aggressiveness regarding the trenches finally, the effectiveness of these moves is to be determined. We were mostly celebrating last offseason and in reality it became a dumpster fire. He somehow hired Johnson, I very much think Johnson is having major say here, so he gets credit for hiring Johnson and going with his plan. Whether each specific move pans out, well its unlikely all of them do. Some will likely be winners, others not so.

 

[dennehy]

Gotta spend when you have zero talent at IOL, which is on Poles. I'm glad he's spending and overall it's an obvious upgrade. But it kinda had to be and not cheap. Should give Caleb a chance anyway.

The DL guys fill holes but I'm not expecting either to be really plus guys. As it stands they probably have an average to slightly above average defense on paper. They need a difference maker at DL in the draft.

 

[Luke]

Poles is still an idiot. Damn near everyone on this board knew the OL and DL would suck last year and that he didn't give the trenches the proper focus. It took him watching the Super Bowl winner to finally have a revelation. He hired a terrible HC and then didn't fire him when he should have. It took a huge embarrassment on national TV for him to finally fire his hire and he failed in how he went about that. Now he had no choice but to overpay for some FAs and give up more draft capital to try to correct his mess. Poles completely failed CW in year 1 with the OL and coaching. I have no respect for Poles. I am totally afraid of what Poles will do with 3 high draft picks.

Never fear, they didn't pay Ben 13mil/yr for nothing.
At Bens presser, he looked at Poles and said that they will work together.
Translation, I pick who I want and you carry it out.
Whatever Ben wants, Ben will get, and Poles will execute said transaction.