NEWSLETTER
In case you missed it, the Chicago Bears fired Matt Eberflus earlier on Black Friday. The move represents the first in-season dismissal of a head coach in franchise history. And if you were wondering if General Manager Ryan Poles would face the same fate, the answer is no.
In a statement released by the team announcing the removal of Eberflus as the head coach, Bears President Kevin Warren issued what amounts to a vote of confidence in the team’s general manager:
“I support Ryan and the decision that was made this morning. We understand how imperative the head-coaching role is for building and maintaining a championship-caliber team, leading our players and our organization. Our fans have stood by us and persevered through every challenge, and they deserve better results. Our organizational and operational structure is strong, focused, aligned and energized for the future.”
I am unsure if there is anything that would change the dynamic and lead Warren to move on from Ryan Poles anytime soon after reading that statement. Then again, I know that Chicago’s football team operates in the most chaotic ways. So while I believe Poles will remain the general manager long enough to choose the team’s next head coach, I know enough to keep that 0.001 percent chance of something unexpected happening.
What is next for Bears General Manager Ryan Poles?
On the one hand, part of me believes Ryan Poles should have to wear the team’s 14-32 record during his time as Bears GM in the same way Matt Eberflus did when he was the head coach. I understand that the early going was always going to look ugly because there was a necessary tear-down of the tattered remains from Ryan Pace’s regime and a rebuild that followed. But on the other hand, this season’s mess was completely avoidable.
Remember, Poles and the Bears had a chance to move on from Eberflus at the end of the 2023 season and could have put the head coach and a rookie quarterback on the same timeline. It would have been a logical move. Instead, Poles and the powers that be at Halas Hall decided to run it back for another season with Eberflus. Unfortunately for Poles and the Bears, the results have been so disastrous that he had to fire Eberflus 12 games into this season.
The Eberflus Era became so bad that a franchise so averse to change felt it was necessary to rock the boat and remove the head coach during the season for the first time in franchise history. Once again, this franchise chose the most chaotic path. And the results, to this point, have been precisely what you would have come to expect from this team. That it started the year 4-2 is impressive, even if it feels as if it was done despite the circumstances. But what is done is done. And while there is much to dissect, there is also much to look forward to for the Bears as they move on with Ryan Poles as their general manager.
And yet, there is a part of me that realizes that Poles isn’t blameless in this organizational mess. After all, he is the general manager who has overseen two offensive coordinators fired, the dismissal of multiple coaches after run-ins with HR, one season that began with postseason aspirations before falling short (with another likely to come this year), and now a head coach firing. Today would have been a good day for Ryan Poles to get in front of a mic, set the record straight, and take some accountability. Or, at a minimum, share his vision for the future. He didn’t. Instead, he put words in a release. More could’ve been done, but wasn’t. And that irks me.
In the end, I realize the actions Ryan Poles takes moving forward will be more valuable than any words he would have said today. Unless something unexpected happens, it will be Poles heading the search party for a new head coach. I am looking forward to seeing what candidates are connected to Chicago in the coming days, weeks, and months. Stay tuned.
