Ryan Poles Just Openly Criticized Bears Coaches For The First Time
One thing we haven’t been able to pin down on the Matt Eberflus situation is Ryan Poles‘ feelings on the subject. While he did offer a vocal show of support a few weeks ago, the Chicago Bears GM hasn’t provided any indication of what the plans are once the season is over. One thing that has been consistent since he took over is he has never offered anything approaching criticism of the coaching staff. He’s only mentioned things the team needs to do in order to improve.
That changed on Christmas Eve before the Bears’ game against the Arizona Cardinals. Poles occasionally has a guest spot with team play-by-play announcer Jeff Joniak on ESPN 1000. While discussing the season and what is expected over the final three weeks, the GM made two comments that jumped out. First, he openly stated the coaches haven’t done enough to teach players the importance of details.
He also stated you can learn a lot from several of the close losses the Bears have suffered this season. Notably, several of those close losses were ugly 4th quarter collapses. So it feels like those words were chosen deliberately.
Ryan Poles doesn’t sound happy.
It is hard to blame him. The Bears are 5-9 right now, and an easy case can be made they should be 8-6 and pushing for a playoff spot. Instead, because of dumb mistakes and defensive breakdowns in three games they had all but won, they’re staring down another losing season. Poles has done his part. His work throughout the 2023 calendar year has been exemplary, from the trades for D.J. Moore and Montez Sweat to the signings of T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds. Lastly comes his latest draft class, with Darnell Wright, Gervon Dexter, and Tyrique Stevenson all playing prominent roles.
Talent is not the problem with this team anymore. They’ve hung with some of the better teams in the league this season. The difference in those matchups was often coaching. They knew how to finish. Chicago still doesn’t. Ryan Poles has a tough decision ahead of him on January 8th. Unless Eberflus sweeps the remaining three games, it is difficult to justify keeping him for another year, especially if the Bears plan to make a change at quarterback. Keep those comments in mind. They feel important.