Ryan Poles Reportedly Wanted Ben Johnson Far Earlier Than Believed

The Chicago Bears went through a detailed and exhaustive search process for their next head coach between late November 2024 and mid-January this year. Everybody knows the end result: Detroit Lions offensive coordinator became the choice. Fans were happy with it, and the media praised it. GM Ryan Poles didn't take any direct credit for the decision, shifting praise to the search team the organization put together. Everything was made to look like it was a consensus decision.

Truthfully, that isn't entirely accurate. Adam Jahns of The Athletic picked up some fascinating details on how the hiring process played out. Among the biggest was that Poles knew he wanted Johnson early. However, he made it a point not to tell anybody that. He didn't want to hijack the process. The search would play out, and everybody would get an opinion on the matter.

In a morning meeting at Halas Hall on Jan. 19, general manager Ryan Poles finally revealed to everyone involved in the Chicago Bears’ coaching search whom he wanted to hire as the team’s next head coach.

Until then, Poles kept his thinking secret. He didn’t want to sway how others felt about the candidates the team interviewed.

“That’s when he gave his opinion and his thought process to everyone,” president/CEO Kevin Warren said. “It was organized — and it all came together.”

This is why the Bears reacted so quickly after Detroit lost their playoff game to Washington. By then, the search team was on the same page. Johnson was the guy. It was time to go get him.

Ryan Poles honored the process and deserves credit for it.

Too many times in recent Bears history a GM has steamrolled his way into making a crucial organizational decision without putting in the necessary work. Ryan Pace notoriously fell in love with Mitch Trubisky without giving proper effort to looking at the other prominent quarterbacks in 2017. Phil Emery unilaterally fired Lovie Smith in 2013 after the Bears went 10-6 because he was convinced the team needed an offensive head coach to maximize Jay Cutler. We saw how those went. Ryan Poles made sure not to let his personal bias interfere with the process. He kept his mind open to a possible change if they came across another coach who blew them away. In the end, it was Johnson who did that. Nobody can say the Bears took shortcuts.