This should be Ryan Poles’ last weekend with the Chicago Bears

Sunday could be Ryan Poles’ last game as the Chicago Bears’ general manager, whether they defeat the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field or not. (At this point, place your bets on “not” and prepare to wallow in all that alcohol you said you weren’t going to drink after New Year’s.)

Let’s be very frank: regardless of the outcome, the results say it should be Poles’ final day with the Bears.

Of course, you always have to ask The Question about everything involving the Bears: how much blame does Poles really deserve for how poorly things go with this dysfunctional franchise?

The objective for that 2022 season was clear: tear it all down, and obtain the pieces to start building anew. Poles inherited a terrible cap and roster situation from predecessor Ryan Pace, so file that 3-14 campaign under “whatever.”

2023 showed promise thanks to the epic Panthers trade haul, the Montez Sweat acquisition, and a more competitive 7-10 season that provided a glimpse of bigger things to come.

2024 was supposed to be the year it started coming together after getting the QB everyone desperately wanted (Caleb Williams), surrounding him with weapons, and ostensibly returning a very good defense.

But it all went to hell, and Poles’ mistakes along the way are part of the story.

• The blown Chase Claypool trade
• The inability to land difference-making free agents
• Never adequately addressing the center position and poor offensive line depth, which is shocking for a former offensive lineman
• Hiring the wrong offensive coordinator for his prized young QB and wasting the first half of his season because of it
• Retaining Matt Eberflus after the 2023 season only to fire him less than a year later for predictably showing no improvement
• Elevating Thomas Brown to interim head coach instead of continuing his rapport with Williams as a play caller and tabbing a more experienced coach, like special teams coach Richard Hightower (who was a head coach at the Shrine Bowl last year)

Others will compile more comprehensive lists of problems with what Poles and the Bears have done and break down his culpability.

But the fact remains that this series of unfortunate events has happened under his charge, and he can’t escape the consequences.

Great, he got the uber-talented QB in Williams that we hope will lead the Bears to a Super Bowl title one day. And no, he can’t be held responsible for every injury that left his offensive line in the lurch; most teams struggle when they’re down two spots on the depth chart.

If you had to pick one word to describe his tenure, though, can you honestly tell me you’d pick a positive one? Because “disappointment” is the first one that comes to my mind, not least because one of the very first promises he made — “We’re going to take the North and never give it back “ — has never been close to coming true (two divisional wins in three years).

As reductive as it may feel, teams, coaches, and general managers are eventually what their record says they are.

We ran Eberflus out on a rail for going 14-32.

We sent Justin Fields packing for Pittsburgh for, among other things, a 10-28 record as a starting QB here.

So what shall we do with their former boss, who has a 14-36 record through three years? Extend his contract?

(Wait ... that’s exactly what the Bears did with Pace, who had a ledger of 14-34 through three years. It immediately resulted in a 12-4 season and then absolutely nothing else after that.)

There is no malice or pleasure in saying it, just cold reality: Poles hasn’t done enough to merit sticking around to benefit from the rebuild he shepherded through. If the Bears want to show they mean business when it comes to winning, they’ll do what they must come Monday morning.

If they don’t, it’s just another iteration of “hopefully this new guy (Ben Johnson?) will save my job” and then firing yet another person a year too late.

Insanity, thy favorite team is the Chicago Bears.