NFL Sources Rank Ryan Poles Among League's Top Young Executives

It will be at least two years before people can start judging Ryan Poles as the new Chicago Bears' GM. That is the minimum amount of time required to see whether a plan for a roster is taking shape or not. It is difficult to determine when the team made the right choice until then. That hasn't stopped several people from making snap evaluations, not just in the media but around the league. Poles was not immune to this. Lindsay Jones conducted a league-wide survey to get nominations for It'sbest coaches and executives in the NFL under the age of 40. New Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was listed among the former. As it turns out, their new general manager was right there with the latter. Poles has plenty of admirers across the NFL, and they seem to think he will guide the Bears in the direction they want to go.

"We solicited input and nominations across the league for this list, seeking to identify current power brokers as well as rising stars in their fields... ...Ryan Poles, Bears general manager | Age: 36 Poles, an offensive lineman at Boston College, spent 13 years in the Chiefs’ front office. There, he rose from entry-level scouting assistant to one of general manager Brett Veach’s top talent evaluators. Now he’s Chicago’s GM, charged with building the Bears back into an NFC North contender. It’s a big challenge. Poles and first-year coach Matt Eberflus inherited quarterback Justin Fields, but have to make significant moves to upgrade other parts of the roster — minus a surplus of draft capital or salary cap space."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ak-A_YE9E&t=2s&ab_channel=ChicagoBears

Ryan Poles' philosophy sounds like the right one.

He's made it clear from the beginning that he wants to build this team through the draft. Free agency and trades are fun but often only lead to brief bursts of winning. If Chicago wants to contend with Green Bay and other NFC powers, they have to get serious about acquiring and developing their own talent. He rammed that point home when he concluded last April with 11 total draft picks. It was the most this team has made since 2008. Time will tell if he hits on any of them, but the overarching message is important. He is committed to building this roster the right way. He'll secure the young talent, and the coaches will morph them into what they are capable of becoming. That was how the Bears did it in the 1980s and in the 2000s. Ryan Poles saw the blueprint unfold in Kansas City over the course of a decade. All he is asking is for Bears fans to trust him. That is difficult after so many years of disappointment, but seeing his priorities are in the right place is nice.