The quarterback was changed. The coaching staff was changed. GM Ryan Poles did everything possible to change the fortunes of the Chicago Bears. Now, through the first two games of 2025, his team is 0-2 and just got crushed 52-21. These humiliations have become all too familiar in Poles’ tenure. Most people put up with them because they knew he was trying to rebuild from scratch. However, it’s now year four. This is when the team should start winning. Instead, the Bears look worse than ever. It is time to say the quiet part out loud.
This roster is still a problem.
Chicago remains far too weak in the trenches, particularly on defense. Their pass rush was non-existent. Do that against good teams and you’re going to pay. Poles never seemed to grasp that reality. Now the Bears are once again hurtling towards a losing season. In normal circumstances, it’s an easy guess to think he’d be fired after so much losing. Unfortunately, the Bears signed him to a contract extension that lined him up with Ben Johnson. There is no way the team would reverse course after just one season, right?
It’s not unprecedented.
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Ryan Poles wouldn’t be the first GM to face this reality.
Jon Robinson signed an extension with the Tennessee Titans in March of 2022. Ten months later, in December, he was fired. Tennessee was in the middle of what became a seven-game losing streak to finish 7-10. Steve Keim is another example. He got extended in March of 2022 but was fired the following January after the Arizona Cardinals finished 4-13. Firing Ryan Poles right after extending him wouldn’t be untrodden ground. Besides, the money wouldn’t be a problem. General managers at most make around $8 million a year. That is chump change compared to some of the player contracts teams eat all the time.
This comes down to the McCaskeys. They’ve been firm supporters of Poles ever since he was hired three years ago. It seems unlikely they would dump him right after locking him up. Then again, nobody thought they’d fire Eberflus midseason either. If this season spirals out of control, which it’s threatening to do, then it might be something they must do.
