The Chicago Bears have a big decision to make with Ryan Poles this offseason. While he may or may not be on his way out of the General Manager position all indications are that his role is greatly diminished with Kevin Warren in the building.
Warren was expected to run the business side with Ted Phillips out and he was expected to get a stadium build.
During the post-firing press conference of Matt Eberflus, Warren noted that Poles will be the point person when the Bears hire the new coach. However, just like the presser, it appears as though Warren has taken over.
A report surfaced on Sunday that gave the indication that Warren was the one coordinating the Bears' search for a new head coach.
"Team president Kevin Warren has a lot of connections around the league from his several decades in pro and college football. That's allowed them to get a jump start on the search process gathering background as part of what is expected to be a thorough search led by Warren and GM Ryan Poles."Tom Pelissero
The report's statement that the search will be led by Warren and Poles and not just Poles should tell you enough. Still, the fact that the report states Warren is using his connections to create the list of candidates tells you that Poles have almost no real role in this search.
This connects with a recent report that Poles has been frustrated with the Bears' power dynamic and did not think he would have to report to someone like Warren when he took the job. Now, it sounds less like reporting and more like working under Warren.