Bears president Kevin Warren: Ryan Poles to stay on as GM, be 'point person' on coach hire

The Bears will keep Ryan Poles on as general manager and he will be the “point person” on the team’s offseason coaching search, president/CEO Kevin Warren said Monday.

Warren said that, in a perfect world, the candidate would be undeniable and that he and Poles would agree on the candidate. Eventually he said that Poles "will have the final say, but Warren hinted that he'll be no wallflower.

"He’s the head of football operations, so he will have the final say if it ever got to that point," Warren said. "But I’m confident that we will work through it because the good thing about it is so long as we keep the center of our decisions what’s in the best interest of the Chicago Bears, our players, as we go forward, it will become clear as far as who is the person to lead this franchise from a football standpoint, from a coaching standpoint.”

Poles made the decision to fire coach Matt Eberflus on Friday, one day after he held on to a timeout as the clock ran out on his offense against the Lions.

“This will be the most coveted job in the National Football League this year,” Warren said.

Warren stressed the need for a coach with “extremely high standards" who “creates an environment of accountability” within Halas Hall.

Bears chairman George McCaskey did not speak at Monday’s press conference — the Sun-Times requested that he do so — but instead sat on the side of the dais.

The Bears named Warren their president/CEO in January 2023 after Ted Phillips announced his retirement. Warren began working full-time in April 2023.

Poles is finishing his third season with the Bears. He hired Eberflus days after the Bears hired the former Chiefs front-office protégé in January 2022.