Ryan Poles Year One: Tear Down, Chicago Bears

As the Chicago Bears’ 2024 season mercifully comes to a close, the organization finds itself in that all-too-familiar fork in the road. With Matt Eberflus already gone, the biggest question to ponder now is the fate of embattled general manager Ryan Poles.

There are three scenarios at play:

1. Fire Poles for cause.
2. Find a coach who will take a job with a lame-duck general manager with whom he has no previous professional ties.
3. Extend Poles.

No. 1 takes guts. Nos. 2 and 3 don’t make much sense for myriad reasons, thus, one will likely be the chosen course of action. Bears gonna Bears, right?

If I were given a choice, I would take No. 1, and I’ll make my case.

The Bears have a chance to do a clean reset and get the coach and general manager on the same timetable, with a shared vision and operating model in place from the jump. Sure, the new coach will inherit a quarterback they didn’t draft in Caleb Williams. But, make no doubt about it, it is his presence that makes this opportunity attractive.

From a raw numbers perspective, Poles’ .279 win percentage is the lowest in the McCaskey era (1983 to present). To cut him some slack, the first year was a total teardown. But, from 2023 on, he’s consistently done less with more — ample cap space and early draft selections. His drafts have produced some good but not enough great players. His pro-personnel moves have produced far more misses than hits, some of which were very costly.

Since George McCaskey took over as Chairman of the Board in May of 2011, the Bears have entered a tailspin. A whirlwind of utter dysfunction that has seen the team lose 60 percent of their games, fire five head coaches, three general managers, post two winning seasons, two playoff appearances and zero playoff wins. Heading into this weekend’s matchup against rival-in-name-only Green Bay, the Bears are 26-57 in the NFC North.

(Orange indicates wins. Blue indicates losses. P indicates a playoff berth. Underscored P indicates a playoff win. The trophy indicates Super Bowl win.)

McCaskey’s incompetence is a topic for another post. The focus of this piece is Poles. But I would be remiss to not point out the correlation between the current chairman and the franchise’s regression.

This is important to acknowledge before we dive in. This piece is being written with the benefit of hindsight. I will l be fair. I will limit the amount of hypotheticals. And when I do, I will provide my reasoning for considering a “What if?” scenario.

However, it must also be acknowledged that Poles’ primary job is to exercise foresight in his player-personnel decisions. Who’s the best football player now and into the future for the franchise? No general manager gets every call right. But they should strive for 50/50, and absolutely must connect on their biggest swings.

2022 | The Purge

Just two days after Poles was hired, Eberflus was named head coach. Given that short of a window between hires, I will safely assume this was an arranged marriage. This serves as a prime example of a flawed process within their football operations. By not fully empowering Poles to do his own due diligence and giving him a reduced pool of pre-determined candidates kneecapped him on the most consequential decision of his tenure.

The roster Poles inherited from Ryan Pace was top-heavy with aging veterans but also had some promising young talent on both sides of the ball: Roquan Smith, Jaylon Johnson, David Montgomery, and Darnell Mooney. The biggest unknown was whether Justin Fields could be the answer to the quarterback question they have yet to solve in the modern era.

Statistically, the 2021 Bears offense had just allowed the most sacks (58), were the sixth-lowest scoring team, and had an anemic passing attack that ranked 30th in yards (3,207) and 29th in touchdowns (16).

Defensively, they were able to get to the quarterback, ranking fourth in sacks (49), led by veterans Robert Quinn, who had just set the franchise record with 18.5 sacks and Khalil Mack, who had his season cut short with a foot injury that required surgery and eventually landed him on injured reserve. The back-seven lacked playmakers, ranking 29th with 16 takeaways (eight interceptions, eight fumbles recovered).

In all, the most glaring needs were at wide receiver, offensive line and the secondary.

Poles released veterans Tarik Cohen, Eddie Goldman, Danny Trevathan and Nick Foles to help restructure the salary cap. These were the right moves. Cohen and Trevathan haven’t played in the NFL since. Goldman “retired” in 2022, was out of the league in 2023 but resurfaced in Atlanta this season.

For pending free agents in the building, Poles’ two biggest decisions were the fates of receiver Allen Robinson and guard James Daniels. After two promising seasons, Robinson’s performance took a significant step back in 2021, and the decision was made to let him walk. This was the right call. As for Daniels, he was 25 years old at the time, relatively healthy, and a versatile interior piece of the offensive line. The choice was made to let him walk, and he latched on with the Steelers.

In free agency, Poles’ first play was a false start. He offered three-technique Larry Ogunjobi $40.5M with $26.35M guaranteed for three years, only to have the deal fall apart due to a failed physical. Examining Ogunjobi’s performance over the past three seasons, this was likely a blessing in disguise. The fallback to the fallout was Justin Jones, a cheaper alternative who did not provide the interior push needed from the three-technique to drive Eberflus’ scheme.

The rest of free agency was made up of low-key, low-risk, low-upside signings like wide receivers Equanimeous St. Brown, Byron Pringle, Dante Pettis and Tajae Sharp, linebacker Nicholas Morrow and a failed offer sheet to guard Ryan Bates.

Poles’ first bold move was a trade that sent Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers for a 2023 second-round pick. This was a direction-altering move of a rare blue-chip talent that saved cap space. But it also created a new need for a pass rusher.

Poles was without a first-round pick stemming from Pace’s trade up with the Giants for Fields. Their seventh-overall selection ended up being tackle Evan Neal (Alabama), who went before wideout Drake London, tackle Charles Cross, and a mini-run of receivers Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jameson Williams.

When the Bears were on the clock they selected Washington corner Kyler Gordon (Round 2, Pick 39), who has emerged as a quality nickel cornerback and should earn a second contract with the team. With the pick acquired from the Chargers, Poles again went to the secondary drafting safety Jaquan Brisker (Round 2, Pick 48), who’s been an emotional alpha and tone-setter when he’s on the field. But concussions could derail this promising prospect’s career.

Here’s where the hypotheticals start to creep in. Looking at the players drafted immediately after Brisker at positions of need for the Bears, the second-guessing can start. Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens went to the Eagles, wide receiver George Pickens to the Steelers and tight end Trey McBride to the Cardinals.

Receiver/returner Velus Jones Jr. (round 3, Pick 71) is no longer on the team and was a big miss. He ran a limited route tree as a receiver in college, which in turn, limited the amount of plays he could be included in a weekly gameplan install. As a returner, he had unreliable hands that resulted in several crucial fumbles and had questionable decision making. The last-ditch effort was to try him at running back, which showed promise, but he was eventually cut.

In hindsight, it stings to see offensive tackle Bernhard Raimann go to the Colts seven picks later and be a day-one starter, and then safety Kerby Joseph – who leads the league in interceptions – go to the Lions 20 picks later.

Using the same three positions Poles drafted, the first three rounds of his 2022 draft could have looked like Gordon, Pickens and Joseph. Alas, he sorted these players in a different sequence on his draft board.

Tackle Braxton Jones (Round 5, Pick 168) was a nice find in round five. He became the starter at left tackle and has shown he belongs in the NFL, but will never be a top-shelf option on the blindside. Nonetheless, he could earn a second contract with the team and become an ideal swing tackle.

Other than safety Elijah Hicks (Round 7, Pick 254), who has become a spot starter in Brisker’s absence and a core special teams player, Poles’ remaining Day 3 picks haven’t panned out.

• Defensive end Dominique Robinson (Round 5, Pick 174) was a project with intriguing physical traits but has yet to find steady snaps in the defensive line rotation on a team that lacks a pass rush.
• Tackle Zachary Thomas (Round 6, Pick 168) was cut in 2022 training camp and has never played an NFL snap.
• Running back Trestan Ebner (Round 6, Pick 203) is out of the league after playing sparingly as a rookie.
• Center Doug Kramer (Round 6, Pick 207) is the de-facto fullback who had two crucial blunders in that role this season and has yet to start a game as an offensive lineman.
• Guard Ja’Tyre Carter (Round 7, Pick 226) made two starts in 2023, but has since been waived and is now a member of Carolina’s practice squad.
• Punter Trenton Gill (Round 7, Pick 255) produced two disappointing years in Chicago and was subsequently waived. He was signed by Denver in 2024, cut in training camp, and then latched on with Tampa Bay midway through the season. Statistically, he’s one of the worst punters in the league,

In summary, two day-one starters and a depth piece were added to the secondary. Attempts were made to improve the offensive line, but only Jones worked out.

A general manager’s job is never done. After the draft and free agency passed, Poles kept tinkering with the roster.

For offensive line help, he signed veteran offensive lineman Dakota Dozier, Michael Schofield and Riley Reiff. Dozier was injured in minicamp, never played a snap and has been out of the league since. Schofield was forced into duty during the season and struggled mightily. Reiff started 10 games and was serviceable. None of these players remained with the team after 2022.

Poles also took a gamble by claiming former Raider first-round flop offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood. Other than the cost, this was a relatively low-risk move, but it didn’t pan out. Leatherwood appeared in four games and has been out of the league since.

Then “Trader Ryan” emerged and deals started happening. The overall results of those trades can’t be fully evaluated, but the early returns don’t look great. One trade in particular has unequivocally proven to be particularly disastrous and arguably the worst personnel decision he’s made.

Realizing the wide receiver room still wasn’t good enough to compete, Poles flipped a 2024 seventh-round pick in July to New England for N’Keal Harry. This trade didn’t work out, as Harry was injured and only appeared in seven games and caught seven passes.

The Bears were 3-5 as the 2022 trade deadline approached. Including sack yardage, the offense had yet to top 200 passing yards (not a typo) in a game. Poles was embroiled in a contract impasse with Roquan Smith, and Robert Quinn still had trade value for a team in contention. This is what happened.

Poles traded Quinn to Philadelphia for a 2023 fourth-round pick (which turned into wide receiver Tyler Scott). Quinn played in six games and registered just one sack for the Eagles. He traded Smith to the Ravens for a 2023 second-round pick (which turned into defensive lineman Gervon Dexter) and linebacker A.J. Klein. Smith went on to sign the richest contract for an off-the-ball linebacker and has earned two Pro Bowls and one All-Pro team.

Deep breath for this one, folks. Poles traded the Bears’ 2023 second-round pick to the Steelers for wide receiver Chase Claypool. The Steelers are a model organization. Rarely do you see them get rid of talented players. This deal was no exception. Claypool was a colossal failure on the field and in the locker room. He was subsequently dealt to the Miami Dolphins in 2023. Here’s the final accounting of this deal:

• The Bears get the Dolphins’ 2025 sixth-round pick.
• The Dolphins get the Bears’ 2025 seventh-round pick.
• The Steelers got cornerback Joey Porter Jr. with the 32nd pick in the 2023 draft they acquired from the Bears.
• Chase Claypool is out of the NFL.

Ouch.

The Bears were already in a nosedive heading into the trade deadline and ended the season on a ten-game losing streak. The defense, bereft of talent from the off- and in-season moves, went from giving up 22.6 points and 344 yards per game in the first-half of the season to 31.3 points and 404 yards per game, and finished dead last with 20 sacks.

Offensively, they were no closer to understanding what they had in Fields. The passing offense cracked 200 yards just once. They finished the season with 2,219 yards (including sack yardage), the lowest total in the NFL since the 2004 season, when, you guessed it, the Bears put up 2,194. What makes the 2022 totals worse, is they played 17 games, opposed to the 16 the league played back in 2004.

Fields was again sacked 58 times, fourth-most in the league. He showed promise and playmaking skills as a runner, but the pocket-passing game didn’t take a step forward. This was due to his own challenges processing the field, but also the severe lack of talent protecting him and running routes.

If Poles proved one thing in 2022, he can definitely tear things down to the studs. This was a planned tank that earned the team the first-pick in the 2023 draft that wouldn’t have been possible without former Bears’ head coach Lovie Smith leading Houston to a Week 18 win over Indianapolis. Had the Texans lost that game, things could’ve looked much different for the future of the Bears.

Heading into 2023, the Bears had needs at virtually every position on the roster. But they were flush with cap space and held the most-prized pick in the NFL draft. Their only pressing free-agent decision was on Montgomery.

Poles needed to add pieces back to the defense. But most importantly, he needed to add talent on offense to enable a proper evaluation of what Fields was as a passer.

We will take a deeper look at what Poles did with all that draft and salary-cap capital in part two and continue with the 2024 transactions in part three.