Well, the Chicago Bears have made their feelings known on how general manager Ryan Poles did this offseason with the franchise. Appears to be all good in the Windy City.
ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported that the Bears and Poles have agreed on a new contract extension that will keep him in Chicago through the 2029 season. This is to match the contract length that new head coach Ben Johnson has for the next five years, meaning the two are attached at the hip now.
ESPN sources: the Bears and general manager Ryan Poles have reached agreement on a contract extension that ties him to Chicago for the next five years, through the 2029 season. Poles had two years remaining on his old deal, but now the Bears have him and new head coach Ben… pic.twitter.com/WEpVVAUYat
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 11, 2025
Poles' outlook since joining the franchise and whether he is worth of an extension
After over a decade of success in Kansas City's front office, the Bears brought in Poles in 2022 to do a massive rebuild of the franchise. He hired Matt Eberflus to be his first head coach under him.
Year 1 was not good as the team went 3-14, but showed improvement the following season in 2023 with a 7-10 record. The 2024 offseason would see some major moves being made by Poles to be aggressive in the rebuild process.
Poles executed a trade with the Carolina Panthers that not only landed him a new wide receiver, D.J. Moore, but also the number one overall pick, which became quarterback Caleb Williams. Chicago still had the ninth overall pick as well as they selected wide receiver Rome Odunze.
That aggressiveness resulted in one of the most disappointing seasons for the franchise over the last five years, with a 5-12 record and Eberflus getting fired. Poles saw this as the last straw as he went big in the 2025 offseason to fix the team.
Ben Johnson was hired as head coach, and the team made multiple moves in the offseason. The offensive line has new additions in Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, and Jonah Jackson. Poles signed Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo on the defensive line. The team was also aggressive in the NFL Draft, with Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III selected as two of the first four picks through two rounds of the draft.
While Williams is facing pressure to perform better than he did in his rookie season last year, this extension shows confidence in Poles, but adds pressure on him as well. The Bears have never had a winning season under him, and he might produce.
Read more: It's not even training camp and one Bears rookie is being overlooked in 2025
Poles got a second chance to get the head coach hire right, so if Johnson fails, it will also be Poles' failure. 2025 will go a long way in seeing if Poles has the Bears on the right path.