One of the biggest questions that faced the Chicago Bears in the aftermath of hiring Ben Johnson as their head coach was the status of general manager Ryan Poles.
During the closing weeks of the regular seasons, there was speculation that the 2025 season served as the final year of Poles' contract with the Bears. Given that speculation, one popular theory was that the Bears would be willing to move on from Poles if Johnson preferred to work with his handpicked general manager.
That theory was put to rest during Johnson's introductory press conference when the first-time head coach praised Poles while saying he looks forward to working with his current general manager.
The latest reporting from Courtney Cronin of ESPN seems to confirm that Poles and Johnson not only are aligned for this season but for the seasons ahead as well.
"According to a team source with knowledge of the situation, Poles' deal runs through the 2026 season, and the expectation is he will receive an extension to align him with Johnson, who signed a five-year contract with Chicago, a term that is common for first-time head coaches," Cronin reported.
Ryan Poles set to receive a new contract with the Chicago Bears.
Cronin's reporting also confirmed that Johnson never requested for the Bears to make a change at general manager.
It's no surprise to see that an extension is in the works for Poles. While there is a strong case to be made that Poles does not deserve the extension, if he is going to make personnel decisions this offseason along with Johnson, it's best that he is doing so without the fear of needing to be aggressive in order to save his job.
It may have been a backward way of how the Bears got here, but they finally have alignment between their team president, general manager, and head coach. Warren played a pivotal role in the Bears successfully recruiting Johnson. Johnson was the head coach candidate that Poles had circled from the start. It's fair to be cynical when discussing the Bears but the team deserves praise for how they went about landing Johnson. It doesn't mean it will work but it won't be due to them fumbling the process.