It’s been a little over 24 hours since the Chicago Bears hired Ryan Poles as their new GM. What say we take a look at some early returns on the hiring?
• Nothing says welcome to Chicago like -15° on your first morning commute to work! Ryan is a better man than I because I told my kids’ school to buzz off; we aren’t leaving the house today. It’s unbearably cold.
New #Bears GM Ryan Poles already at work today on a beautiful -8 degree morning. (via @ChicagoBears) pic.twitter.com/4KMdzRzJZO
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) January 26, 2022
• I’m not going to lie; I’m a sucker for this stuff. I have no idea whether or not Ryan Poles will succeed as the GM of the Chicago Bears, but I dig the P.R. they’re peddling us. Some weren’t as impressed with the sub-zero staged video op. 670 The Score’s midday drive host Laurence Holmes wasn’t as impressed with Poles simply showing up for work and gave me a good laugh with his impression this afternoon.
Time to get to work! 📍@670TheScore pic.twitter.com/JF6Q5KEYkR
— Laurence Holmes (@LaurenceWHolmes) January 26, 2022
• All right, Ryan Poles is hard at work at Halas Hall, but what do we know about Poles? We’ve compiled the resumé over the last few days, but aside from that, we can only really take the word of others that have a better understanding of Poles’ body of work in Kansas City.
• NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller was pretty high on the hiring, calling him his top available GM candidate and proclaiming that the Bears couldn’t have done better than they did hiring the former Kansas City scouting and personnel boss.
I don't think Chicago could have done better.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) January 25, 2022
• Miller gushed about Poles during a radio hit on 670 The Score’s Parkins and Spiegel Tuesday afternoon. You can listen to that interview here:
He's been advocating Ryan Poles to get a GM job for a year @nfldraftscout joins us now https://t.co/fyhwdghXTQ
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) January 25, 2022
• Field Yates joined Matt Miller in the national NFL analysts giving praise demographic. The ESPN NFL insider called the hire of Ryan Poles “an incredible hire.”
This isn't a good hire by the Bears.
This is an incredible hire by the Bears.
This franchise is in GREAT hands with Ryan Poles leading the way going forward. https://t.co/aD4yLGH8eG
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) January 25, 2022
• Of course, Yates has been singing the praises of Ryan Poles for years now, so this isn’t a new opinion for him.
The Chiefs named Ryan Poles their Director of College Scouting. Good name to file away — one of the smartest young personnel minds around.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 26, 2017
• As The Athletic’s Jon Greenberg points out, Albert Breer and Jay Glazer are also among the national guys singing the praises of the Bears’ new GM.
Wow, everyone loves the Ryan Poles hire. pic.twitter.com/Vkc2z2X6Zo
— jon greenberg (@jon_greenberg) January 25, 2022
• Another point made by Breer, which is an important detail in all of this; Poles was a finalist for the Carolina Panthers job last season and was also a finalist for the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants jobs this season. The Giants went with Joe Schoen in the end, and the Bears swooped in and locked up their guy before he could make it to Minneapolis for his second interview with the Vikings today.
Maybe the best indication of the impression new Bears GM Ryan Poles has made with teams-he's interviewed for 4 GM jobs over the last 12 months (Panthers last year; Bears, Vikings, Giants this year), and he's been a finalist for all of them.
Which is why Chicago moved fast today.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 25, 2022
• Here’s what one source told NBC Sports Chicago and 670 The Score’s Anthony Herron about Ryan Poles:
From a source who has worked extensively with Ryan Poles.
"He is a really special dude!!! Smart. Organized. Detailed. Real Football guy with modern day philosophical approach!!! Combines old school and new school!!!"#Bears https://t.co/wvxEdjgfyy— Anthony Herron (@BigAntHerron) January 25, 2022
• While it’s really lovely to see the national guys singing the praises of Ryan Poles and calling this a home run hire by the Bears, we don’t know much about him beyond what’s on paper and what insiders have heard from people around him. Pat McAfee hits it on the head:
BREAKING: Chicago Bears have hired Ryan Poles as their new GM#PatMcAfeeShowLIVE #DaBears pic.twitter.com/ww7eQEeOyJ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 25, 2022
• As does Mark Grote:
New #Bears GM Ryan Poles has an excellent resume, and comes from a successful organization, but I'm waiting for those first few moves to see what he's all about.
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) January 25, 2022
• The buzz and optimism around the hire are fantastic. Ryan Poles has the background, the resumé, and the public support of plenty. But we’ll see what happens when he’s calling the shots as the GM in Chicago. Let’s wait and see before we get our hopes up again.