Chicago Bears: Everything Falling Into Place for Poles’ Plans

Things are falling into place for Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles’ rebuild plan. In a pivotal offseason things are going as planned.

Now that the Chicago Bears’ 2022 season is over, general manager Ryan Poles and his front office staff have the job of rebuilding for the 2023 season and beyond. He has a plan for what he wants to do and is executing it flawlessly.

The first part of Poles’ rebuilding plan was setting a foundation for success. It was a difficult but necessary step to take. Poles felt he had to sacrifice the 2022 season to have a successful rebuild. He let many popular veterans go. These players were fan favorites. However, they had more years behind them than in front of them so they weren’t a good fit going forward.

Poles felt he needed younger players who could develop. He replaced the veterans with those young players who haven’t made an impact in the NFL. These players came in with team-friendly contracts.

In addition, Poles turned five draft picks into 11. He said he wanted to build through the draft and this was an example of that. In spite of making so many trades, Poles was able to still hold onto his highest picks, two second-rounders.

Poles found two key assets to the defense with those second-round picks. He picked up cornerback Kyler Gordon and safety Jaquan Brisker. They look like they’ll be a big part of the defense for years to come.

Additionally, Poles found a diamond in offensive lineman Braxton Jones. In a season where Chicago’s offensive linemen kept going down with injuries, Jones was the sole lineman to play every snap this season. He took his lumps but he learned very quickly and did a good job at left tackle. He made a case to become a cornerstone lineman.

A dismal season pays off

With the dreadful season, the Bears were ultimately rewarded. With their 10-game losing streak and the Houston Texans winning two of their final three games, the Bears earned the top pick of the 2023 NFL Draft.

The Chicago Bears have Justin Fields as their quarterback. He took big strides in his development this season, despite not having the proper weapons and a good line protecting him. Poles feels the Bears have their franchise quarterback. While Fields still has more to accomplish, he is on the right path.

Having the top pick in the draft and not needing a quarterback has a huge advantage. Teams desire high picks so they can find a quarterback, the most important position on the roster. Now, those teams are looking to Poles to make a deal to acquire the top pick and get whatever quarterback they desire.

In addition to the top overall pick, Poles has seven other picks. These are valuable picks. Remember, he turned three late-round picks into nine. We could only imagine what he could do with the top overall pick and seven more.

Poles enters free agency with a big wallet

Another positive from the dismal 2022 season for the Chicago Bears is free agency. By getting rid of nearly all of the big contracts on the roster, Poles was able to add flexibility. Chicago enters the free agency period with the most salary cap space in the league.

According to Spotrac, the Bears currently have about $116 million in cap space. The team with the next-highest is the Atlanta Falcons with just over $56 million.

That means that Poles can be in on any free agent he wants. He stated in his final season press conference that he wasn’t going to go on a crazy spending spree, but whoever he pegs as a “must have” free agent will be a realistic target.

Combine quality free agents and valuable draft picks and this rebuild can go further much quicker than most imagine.

Poles hires the right people

As I mentioned earlier, Poles had to sacrifice the 2022 season for the better good of the rebuild. He had to use unknown veterans and rookies to fill the roster. The Bears went from being one of the oldest teams in the NFL to one of the youngest.

With that, there would be growing pains. The players made a lot of mistakes, especially in close games.

Poles had a plan for that as well. He hired Matt Eberflus as the new head coach. Eberflus was the defensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts. His players at Indianapolis loved him and would run through walls for him.

Poles wanted Eberflus to do the same for the Chicago Bears. He wanted to change the losing mentality that overtook the franchise. Eberflus demanded that the players work hard on and off the field. He introduced them to his HITS principle.

The HITS principle is where the players play hard with intensity, cause turnovers, and play smart. Some of them were slow to accept Eberflus’ philosophy but eventually, he won them over.

This was a different Chicago Bears team. Yes, they finished with just three wins all season. However, this wasn’t a team that continuously got blown out. Despite not having a competitive roster, the Bears were in most games. There were nine games that went into the fourth quarter in which the Bears were up or down by one score. That is a testament to Eberflus’ influence on the players. They played hard all season. It gives hope that if the Bears had better players, the results will be different.

At the end of the season, team President Ted Phillips retired. He was in his position for 24 years and took a lot of criticism for not having the Bears contend with other teams financially.

Under Phillips, there were a few big contracts signed, but the entire roster wasn’t dealt with properly. While there were a few big-name players on the roster, the rest of it was void of talent. He placated the fans with some big signings but ultimately the Bears were never consistent in fielding good teams.

Poles wanted to change that. While he understands that the team needs to be financially responsible, there can be a balance between fielding a good team and not being overzealous with the money.

Under Phillips, the Bears were a more conservative franchise. Poles wants to bring the team into the new century. His ideas wouldn’t work with Phillips. Phillips’ retirement was needed.

Just recently, the Chicago Bears announced the hiring of a new President. Poles hired former Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren to replace Phillips.

Warren is a perfect fit for the Bears. He is a person who aims high. Some people might think his ideas are impossible to accomplish but he tells them to work as hard as they can to make the impossible possible.

This is what Poles needs. He has his own ideas of how to get the Chicago Bears to win again. Now he has someone who will move heaven and earth to fulfill Poles’ wants.

Warren was with the Big Ten for three years but has over two decades of experience in the NFL. He was with the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, and Minnesota Vikings. He understands the league.

Warren was instrumental in Minnesota building a world-class stadium, US Bank Field. The stadium is a first-class facility and ended up hosting a Super Bowl in 2018. Additionally, under his direction, the Big Ten added new schools like USC and UCLA to the conference. Also, the conference signed a new lucrative media rights deal. The deal, signed with CBS, FOX, and NBC, brings in $1.2 billion.

In addition to fielding a winning team, Poles and the Bears want to have a similar type of stadium themselves. They purchased land in Arlington Heights to build their own stadium. Warren’s experience will be a huge asset to getting it done properly.

Finally, the Bears will have a President/CEO who values the product on the field as well as the financial ramifications of certain moves. Poles has his right-hand man.

Things seem to be falling into place for Poles. His plan for the rebuild is working to perfection. Now he has the toughest part coming up — finally getting the right players to bring a new era of winning to the Chicago Bears.