Ian Rapoport Finally Sheds Light On Persistent Ryan Poles Rumor
The Chicago Bears started the 2025 offseason with loads of uncertainty. Everything depended on what they planned to do with their power structure. Team president Kevin Warren was the new face in the building. He had no say over the current regime, made up of former head coach Matt Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles. After an ugly 5-12 season, Eberflus was already fired. Many wondered if Poles was next. He only had one season left on his contract and had been responsible for a disappointing last two years, which featured the two longest losing streaks in franchise history.
There were rumblings that Warren might prefer to move on, wiping the slate clean. After days of tensions, it was revealed that the Bears would move forward with Poles as GM. He would have the primary say over the next head coach and retain personnel authority. Even now, many wonder how close things came to being different. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network finally shared his findings with Marquee Sports Network. Based on all the information available over the past few months, Poles getting fired never came close to reality.
Ryan Poles wasn’t in danger for one reason.
Ownership loves him. George McCaskey personally hired the young general manager in 2022 and has been nothing but supportive of his efforts since. The Bears chairman has a history of standing by his people despite public pressure. He proved it with Ryan Pace and with Ted Phillips. It isn’t hard to believe he’d do the same with Ryan Poles. Part of it is because McCaskey believes in his vision for the team. Another part is probably because he prefers stability at the top. Constantly cycling through general managers doesn’t sound like a winning strategy to him. Whatever the case, Poles was far safer than Eberflus was. Rapoport’s update was merely the final confirmation.