General manager Ryan Poles enters 2025 seeking his 16th win since taking over the Chicago Bears in 2022. Following the disappointing era with Matt Eberflus, Poles hopes new head coach Ben Johnson can take his roster to greater heights.
Rumors were floating around about Poles’ status with the Bears before and after Johnson was hired. It was unclear if an incoming coach would want to work with a GM that hadn’t sniffed the playoffs in three seasons.
Poles’ initial deal with Chicago runs through 2026. There has been some speculation that the Bears might have extended Poles when they hired Johnson, so the new head coach would be assured stability with the front office. Chicago likes to keep such deals quiet.
The status of Poles’ contract isn’t known, but the Bears revealed this weekend that CEO Kevin Warren is very involved with Poles regarding decisions with the roster, confirming suspicions about how the dynamic of Warren and Poles works in Halas Hall.
Chicago Bears CEO Kevin Warren is a part of the process
During an interview with Larry Mayer of the Bears, Warren revealed how he deals with Poles on the roster. According to Mayer, Warren wanted to make it known that he meets regularly with Poles and Johnson as part of the “player acquisition process.”
“I am there as a resource,” Warren said. “I just want to make sure for everyone that I can continually pressure test that we are being aggressive enough and we are thinking big enough. That is something I just want to make sure that we are doing.”
“I tell Ryan and coach all the time: ‘Just dream and forget about the financial cost and the resources for the time being. Tell us what is the right thing to do for this franchise and then we can figure out how to make it happen.’ I want to create an environment that has creativity, that is diligent, that is hard working and does not start off thinking, ‘Oh no, we will never be able to do that.'”
When Warren isn’t taking his time looking at feasibility studies for the future Bears stadium, he’s trying to make sure Chicago has an elite roster for that building. Poles had relatively quiet springs for player acquisition until this offseason, when he found five starters for the trenches in March.
Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson are on the same page
There doesn’t appear to be a rift between Johnson and Poles.
Adam Hoge of CHGO and Tyler Dunne of Go Long recently talked about the possibility that Chicago could have a situation with Johnson and Poles like the Buffalo Bills had when they fired GM Doug Whaley following the draft in head coach Sean McDermott’s first season (2017) so they could bring in Brandon Beane, who McDermott was familiar with.
That isn’t expected to be the case in Chicago this year.
Warren believes that Poles and Johnson are on the same page.
“They are the same person,” Warren said. “They are very bright, their intelligence level is high, they are curious, they have a high football IQ, they are winners, they are family men, they are similar in age and their journey was similar.
“They love the game of football. They love the Bears. They have a lot of similar attributes, and I think now they know they are in an environment where they can write their own future.”
If that is the case, Poles will likely sign a contract extension, if he hasn’t already.
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