GM Ryan Poles said he’s been thoroughly impressed with the scouting department the Chicago Bears had in place when he arrived in 2022. That is why he didn’t seem to make any sweeping changes aside from a promotion here and a replacement there. However, it appears things have changed. Following one of the most impressive drafts (on paper) the Bears have had in a long time, Poles is has decided to shake things up. Not one but two of their most prominent scouts will be leaving the organization.
One is Midlands area scout Drew Raucina, who’d been with the organization for the past six years. However, the far bigger surprise is the exit of Sam Summerville. He’s been with the Bears since 2012, serving as one of their most reliable scouts. He ran the country’s Southeast region, helping the team nab some excellent players, including Roquan Smith, Eddie Jackson, and Tarik Cohen, among others. Letting him go is a big shock, considering what he has meant to the organization for over a decade.
The Chicago Bears now have two big vacancies to fill.
There is a strong possibility the Bears could bring in somebody new from the outside. A promotion could also be on the table for one of their area scouts. This also might not be the only change they make. It is hard to imagine Poles doing this unless he feels like he’s getting some people he really likes added to the staff. Who they could be is a mystery that likely won’t come out until next month. Scouting department promotions and other business don’t come out until May. It will be interesting to see what they do.
Raucina’s exit isn’t a huge surprise. He was a holdover from the Ryan Pace era. Summerville is a different story. He felt like a mainstay who did great work regardless of the regime. The Chicago Bears seem content to let him explore new opportunities. Maybe he and Poles didn’t see eye to eye on things. Maybe Summerville wanted to move on. It isn’t clear. The vacancy to fill will be a big one. Fans will have to trust Poles knows what he’s doing. He seems to have a sharp eye for scouting talent.
@TGena Your analysis of drafts and players (and Ryan Poles) is astute and worthy (always) of consideration. I don’t disagree at all. My frustration has been that Bears management (general managers down) have never considered the importance of coaching any lower round (or even first round) draft picks. Regardless of how players are rated, they have never played in the pros. They have never played against this level of individual or team competition at this level. The worst NFL teams have a handful of players who are better than anyone these newbies have ever played against – and the Bears… Read more »
@PoochPest — Velus Jones Jr. was selected at # 71 in the 2022 NFL draft. I am not alone in my belief that Velus was drafted “a round or two” higher than he should have been. The 2022 Consensus Big Board (see mockdraftdatabase.com) had Velus ranked as player #150. The order in which a player is drafted is of little consequence if the player can display proficiency. Velus has yet to do so. His primary (and likely fatal) flaw is one of ball security — during actual NFL games. Coaching has not helped. At the time the position of Left… Read more »
@TGena Good list. From outside, it’s difficult to tell where scouting ends and coaching picks up. You constantly harp on Velus Jones, but with their release of offensive coaches while not yet releasing Jones, it seems they are as skeptical of Bears offensive coaches as I was. But looking over the list (and Lambert’s much more limited list) it seems they had a better feel for defensive players than offensive players, and it seemed they focused more on the prominent SEC teams than smaller schools or HBCU schools. everyone drafts from SEC. what can be produced from Braxton Jones or… Read more »
Fresh meat
@Bubb Ho-Tep Why can’t it be a little of both? Maybe in the draft room, our board looked stupid when other teams called the names for players in these two guys region that we had shit data on. And Poles pulled out the Aces and said you lose. Why weren’t these guys given more attention? Then fired them. Completely plausible explanation. And on top of that, that kind of incompetence can make the boss look stupid. Don’t look back a past performance either, because the one guy in the southeast region probably gave Pace the info on Trubisky at NC… Read more »