Ryan Poles thought he knew what to expect when becoming a general manager. There were obvious responsibilities like drafting, signing, or trading players. He would also have to communicate regularly with ownership and the team president about business matters while keeping them in the loop on personnel decisions. There was also the necessity of providing leadership to everybody in the building and having a good working relationship with the coaching staff. Don’t forget media appearances as well. It is a challenging job, but one Poles felt prepared for.
However, he quickly learned that the Chicago Bears were a far different animal than Kansas City. The fanbase is significantly larger and also way more vocal. That wasn’t a huge surprise. Big cities always have demanding fans. Chicago can be a difficult place to work when you don’t win. Yet that isn’t what enlightened Poles to his new reality. It was how much celebrity came with the GM position. He expected fans to gravitate towards players, as is the case everywhere. He never imagined they would treat him the same way. Poles explained this to Brian Levenson on the Intentional Performers podcast.
It’s a surreal feeling.
“They want their team back. They know that with the Bulls having their dynasty, the Cubs and White Sox having their teams…the Blackhawks…it’s a Bears town, and you can feel that. The one thing I was not ready for, to be honest it was a blind spot, was I’ve always put players on a pedestal. Not really the front office. I get more requests for selfies and getting chased through Targets than I ever thought I was going to be, which is cool because, again, they’re passionate about their football team. They believe in me and what we’re doing with the entire organization. So that’s exciting.”
Ryan Poles has embraced this reality.
The same couldn’t be said for Ryan Pace. He got the same treatment when he took over the Bears in 2015. Pace, though, preferred to stay as far away from the spotlight as possible. He was never out in public much and kept his media appearances to the bare minimum. Poles doesn’t fear the same attention. He has embraced it. He’s a regular in press conferences, podcasts, and radio shows. It seems he doesn’t mind being out in public, either. The man is eager to embrace the city he aims to bring a championship.
This is why it is easy to like Ryan Poles. The guy can be surprised, but he’s not one to get thrown off by surprises. He instead learns to roll with them. Having somebody like that making the big decisions is never a bad thing. You never want a GM that doesn’t do well with unexpected change. One thing is certain. If Poles gets this team back to the playoffs, he’ll have to beat fans seeking selfies off with a stick. If he gets them a Super Bowl? He might need an armed escort.
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