Ryan Poles One Of Two GMs To Receive Perfect Offseason Grade From Experts

The Chicago Bears needed a good offseason if they were going to make any headway in the NFC. Not only are they in one of the league's toughest divisions, but they are also in the same conference as the defending Super Bowl champions. If they want to break through for a Lombardi trophy, they must keep stacking good offseasons. Some have been skeptical of whether GM Ryan Poles can do such a thing. While he's not considered a bad talent evaluator, he's also not viewed as anything approaching elite.

Over the course of four months, Poles pieced together what might've been his masterpiece. It started with hiring Ben Johnson as the new head coach, who many felt was the best candidate available. Then, he secured five new starters for the offensive and defensive lines in free agency. Lastly, Poles got Caleb Williams two more viable weapons in the draft. Opinions always vary on such things. Still, Pro Football Focus was so impressed with his work that they gave Poles and the Bears one of just two A+ offseason grades.

CHICAGO BEARS: A+
It was an ideal offseason for the Bears. They made huge splashes in their coaching staff, not just with Ben Johnson as head coach but also with Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator. They then traded for or signed Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman to solidify their starting offensive line. That allowed them to take a “best player available” approach in the draft, which yielded Colston Loveland, Luther Burden III and Ozzy Trapilo, among others.

Chicago didn’t really address running back this offseason, but if the team was to put a lower priority on any position, that was the one.

Ryan Poles answered the bell when he had to.

The man was under so much pressure going into the spring. His handpicked head coach from a few years ago had crashed and burned so spectacularly that the organization fired him midseason. The Bears had never done that in over a century of existence. Many felt Ryan Poles deserved more criticism for the team's ugly finish to last season. Ultimately, team president Kevin Warren and chairman George McCaskey decided to give him another chance. He responded with a smart, disciplined approach where he was aggressive but never to the point of recklessness. Poles got his preferred head coach, addressed almost every roster need, and still maintained plenty of resources for the future. This wasn't a case of Ryan Pace flailing wildly trying to save himself. Poles' accomplishments won't be known for at least a year, but nobody can argue with the process.