Upon taking over last month, Ryan Poles made one significant change to the
Chicago Bears front office. That was hiring Ian Cunningham as the team's first-ever assistant GM. He will be Poles' right-hand man moving forward. However, since then, the Bears haven't made any other move of significance in the front office outside of allowing Chip Kelly to leave for Las Vegas and dismissing both Joey Laine and Josh Lucas.
It appears, at least for the time being, that Poles will attack the 2022 offseason with the executives and scouts the team already has in place. This isn't breaking new ground. GMs have done such things several times in the past. It can be challenging to construct an entirely new scouting department in such a short period. This is why
changes aren't often made until after the NFL draft in April.
Poles will likely operate the same way.
This leaves it open to speculation who else he may end up bringing in a couple of months from now. Scott Pioli is one name that could (and should) be on his shortlist. The two men know each other well. Pioli was GM of the Kansas City Chiefs from 2009 to 2012 and was the one who gave Poles his first job as a scout. While his time running the Chiefs mainly was a disappointment, the man has a strong reputation for helping build successful teams.
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Pioli won three championships with the New England Patriots in the 2000s as their director of player personnel. Then in 2014, he became assistant GM for the Atlanta Falcons. Over the next three offseasons, he helped them draft eight eventual Pro Bowl or All-Pro players.
- Jake Matthews
- Grady Jarrett
- DeVonta Freeman
- Vic Beasley
- Keanu Neal
- Austin Hooper
- Deion Jones
- De'Vondre Campbell
A huge reason the team eventually reached the Super Bowl in 2016. What is even more amazing is he has been a scout since 1992 but is still only 56-years old. This man would be a huge benefit to the front office—one with yet more championship pedigree that Ryan Poles and Cunningham both have.
