This week some big news was revealed by Courtney Cronin of ESPN. In an article that revealed some of the backstory of the Chicago Bears' process in hiring new head coach Ben Johnson, Cronin shared what is the likely contract length and amount per year of Johnson's contract. This wasn't the biggest news though. The bigger news was that we now know how long Ryan Poles' contract lasts. Furthermore, the expectation is the Chicago Bears extend Poles to align with Johnson's deal.
As soon as this news broke, many Chicago Bears fans went to social media to share their disbelief and frustration with the decision.
Chicago Bears fans and analysts react emotionally to Ryan Poles news
How in Gods green earth does Ryan Poles deserve extension? For what Losing?????!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/AD6QLnvOiC
— “Just Trey” (@trizzy890) February 4, 2025
Worst GM in franchise history.
— TD (@thedude3003) February 4, 2025
There are plenty more posts like this. What I found more shocking, though, was local analysts freaking out about the news as well.
.@leilarahimi doesn't believe Bears general manager Ryan Poles deserves a contract extension now.
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) February 4, 2025
"You have only won 15 games in your last 3 years," Rahimi says.
"I want to be wrong, I want Ryan Poles to dunk on me ... You've gotten some decisions right, but not enough." pic.twitter.com/cGOd7vn6BH
Leila Rahimi sounds off on the situation on the Bernstein and Harris show on 670 the Score. She claims she wants to be wrong but sticks to the low number of wins during his tenure as the main reason why an extension is not warranted. Rahimi wasn't alone. Even before we knew about the extension being official, Marc Silverman of ESPN wrote in December about why Poles shouldn't deserve an extension to clean up his own mess. Clay Harbor was another analyst who spoke to the displeasure of the extension.
I’m not real sure what Ryan Poles has done to warrant an extension for another FIVE years.
— Clay Harbor (@clayharbs82) February 3, 2025
Don’t think this is the correct move unless it was a deal breaker for Johnson. Thoughts Chicago? #DaBears #Bears https://t.co/eQhYUfYFnn
Now let's settle down a bit and think about this logically. I have been talking about how Ryan Poles was safe and how he'd more than likely receive an extension to align with whoever the Chicago Bears hired as the next head coach for quite some time. I talked about it shortly after Matt Eberflus was fired and have been continuing to speak about it without wavering.
I’m not concerned about this at all.
— Rob Schwarz Jr. (@ChiRuxinBGO) January 10, 2025
Ben Johnson already has ties to Jeff King.
There’s a chance Ian Cunningham ends up in Tennessee and King moves up to his position.
We need to not worry about alignment.
Bears are going to make that happen.
They did it with Pace/Nagy.
It helped that I had someone with confirmed sources telling me that I was right in my thinking. It helped that I had someone confirming that Ben Johnson had zero issues with Ryan Poles and was not only willing to work with him but looking forward to it.
The question now is, why are so many fans and analysts so upset with the extension of Ryan Poles? Poles' original contract was good through 2026, per Courtney Cronin. This was expected after we received confirmation that Matt Eberflus' contract was a five-year deal. Logically, it made sense for Poles' contract to be aligned with Eberflus' despite no one ever releasing details. Just as logical, it made sense for the Chicago Bears to extend Poles to align his contract with Ben Johnson's deal -- the same thing they did with Ryan Pace when Matt Nagy was hired in 2018.
I ask this question again, why would anyone be upset by this if they wanted Ben Johnson to be the next head coach of the Chicago Bears? It was well known that alignment with the general manager was a big deal to Ben Johnson. If this was important and Johnson was willing to work with Poles, then why are Chicago Bears fans or analysts upset with the decision? It was literally what needed to happen to land the hottest head coaching candidate this cycle.
I urge Chicago Bears fans to stop reacting to everything with pure emotion. Take a breath and start focusing on the bigger picture. Start thinking about things logically and rationally. A three-year extension for Poles was the smart move whether you believe in him as a general manager or not.