The Chicago Bears have been rather silent on the situation regarding GM Ryan Poles. Though team president Kevin Warren insisted he was safe after Thanksgiving, a lot has happened since then. Many have wondered if another long losing streak and ongoing locker room concerns might be enough to push Poles out. It doesn't appear that is the case. Two key pieces of information have surfaced to basically confirm that the GM will return next season. First and most obvious is an announcement from the team that Poles would conduct the end-of-season press conference on Tuesday.
It is unlikely he would do that if the Bears were planning to move on.
The second part came from one of the team's head coach interview requests. That is New York Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka. He hasn't received much buzz lately due to his team's struggles on offense. So why would the Bears be interested? Namely, because he has direct ties to Poles. The two worked together in Kansas City.
Ryan Poles is in the driver's seat, for better or worse.
It is pretty clear the McCaskey family wants him to be front and center in this search. They want their football people to lead the charge in finding a football coach. That is the correct mentality to have, even if the one in charge has serious questions about his ability to identify a good coach. Ryan Poles signed off on hiring Matt Eberflus in 2022 and chose to keep him after 2023 despite knowing he planned to draft a quarterback. This mess falls directly at his feet. Some general managers don't get the courtesy of picking a second coach. Ryan Pace did, though. So, this always felt like the probable outcome. The only thing fans can do is hope Poles has a better process this time around. It appears as if there is a clear plan in mind. The decisive sequence will be the interviews.
