Chicago Bears' fans hoping that Black Monday will include the firing of Ryan Poles are setting themselves up to be disappointed next week.
Facing the real possibility of the Bears ending the 2024 season with an 11-game losing streak, there has been increased scrutiny of the job Poles has done as general manager. Combining that with speculation that some head coach candidates may not value Poles being on the hot seat, there had been an uptick in speculation that the Bears will make a change to their football operations structure.
On Monday, Albert Breer all but squashed that speculation.
"The biggest question that prime candidates have is about the role of team president Kevin Warren, and I think the McCaskey family is aware of that. To that end, GM Ryan Poles is set up to run point on the search, and I’m told it’s because that’s the way ownership wants it. Warren will have a seat at the table and a major say, of course. But Poles will, too, as the McCaskeys seek alignment on the football operations side," Breer reports.
There are several concerning ramifications from this part.
Latest report should concern Chicago Bears' fans
The first being that Poles will indeed be back as the Bears' general manager for the 2025 season. Considering Poles is still operating on his original contract, that would leave one more season on his deal unless there was a secret contract extension. That timeline doesn't scream alignment considering the next Bears' head coach will likely have a deal of, at least, four years.
The second is that George McCaskey continues to meddle in football evaluations. The same McCaskey who has been adamant since taking over that he is a "fan, not a football evaluator". As long as there continues to be meddling from McCaskey, the Bears will not be a serious football operation and any hire they make should be expected to fail.
Lastly, it remains unclear who will have the final say on the Bears' head coach hire. Breer's intel says both Warren and Poles will have a say in the decision with the current general manager running point in the search. Considering how often the Bears have fumbled the messaging, Poles running point in the search shouldn't signal that he has final say.