NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears have a heightened interest in one of the most popular GM candidates in this hiring cycle.
Although, it comes via a name not too many had on their radar at the outset of this search:
Chiefs' executive director of player personnel Ryan Poles, one of two finalists for the Vikings' GM job, now is being asked to interview a second time for the Bears' GM job, per league source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 22, 2022
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that Ryan Poles will get a second interview with the Bears. Meanwhile, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero adds the Bears will get the interview on Tuesday. One day before the Vikings. It’s a third round of Bears-Vikings that no one was asking for, but everyone suddenly needs.
Poles is the Chiefs Executive Director of Player Personnel. And if his name sounds familiar, it might be because he was interviewing with Chicago’s football team on Friday after putting in an interview request the previous week. That Poles is already receiving interest regarding a second interview suggests his first one went well. And it hints at Poles possibly being a finalist for the Bears gig. Because while this search is going into its third week, I don’t expect conversations with finalists to drag deep into the winter. Especially if the Bears like Poles and view the Vikings as a serious threat to poach him in the hiring process.
That Poles is a popular person of interest raises my eyebrow. While it is certainly impressive to get a second interview with the Bears this quickly, Chicago not being alone in having an interest in someone garnering interest elsewhere is different. Not that it was unexpected, by any means. We figured there would be crossover in these searches. There always is to some degree. It’s just that Poles is such a fresh face to this hiring cycle, so I can’t say I saw this coming. Because, in addition to the Vikings and Bears, the Giants put Poles among their group of finalists. Of course, that was before settling on hiring Joe Schoen on Friday. No matter what happens here, Poles is a name to know. And this is a situation worth following.
In the end, it looks like if if the Bears want to make a GM hire before bringing in a coach (which they apparently do) and want it to be Poles (they clearly like him enough for a second interview this quickly), they’ll need to work quickly and make a strong pitch to beat a division. What drama this could turn out to be…
