Bears prez offers tepid support of lame-duck GM

Chicago Bears president Kevin Warren understands he walks a fine line retaining Ryan Poles as head of football operations to hire a second head coach.

That's because Poles' current contract wouldn't align with the replacement selected for Matt Eberflus, potentially laying the groundwork for a power struggle. But Warren framed those hypotheticals as tomorrow's problems on Tuesday while noting Poles would be asked to collaborate during the hiring process.

"I think we made it clear, I made it clear in early December and as Ryan talked about today, he is our point person on the search. He's our general manager. He's head of football operations," said Warren. "I am confident that if we do our job from a process standpoint, which we will, and sit down and be open and honest that people will look at this as a great opportunity and from a hypothetical standpoint, I am confident with the group that we have right now and Ryan leading our charge."

Poles said he ultimately will make the decision and handle interviews of coaching candidates this month. He denied what he senses is a widely held opinion that he and Warren don't work well together, saying that "couldn't be further from the truth."

And Warren insisted the Bears are committed to Poles, who was retained in November when Eberflus was fired and replaced by interim coach Thomas Brown. Poles is starting the final year on his current contract and his fingerprints are everywhere on the roster.

"When we say long term, a year is a lifetime. I know that's important," Warren said of the time left on Poles' deal. "I know 2025 is important, not only from a football standpoint, from a stadium standpoint, from an operation standpoint. Again, I trust Ryan. I trust the process that he has put together. I'm confident it will yield positive results.

"We will hire a world-class coach, whether it's Thomas Brown or someone who currently does not work in our organization. We will get this right, and I'm looking forward to it. I am so excited about being able to start these interviews, I haven't been able to sleep these last couple of nights."

Chicago finished last in the NFC North, with three division rivals headed to the playoffs, and last won the division in 2018. The Bears are 15-36 since the start of the 2022 season and last appeared in the playoffs in 2020 with an 8-8 record under Matt Nagy.

Nagy is the only Bears coach to win more than eight games in a season since Lovie Smith in 2012.

--Field Level Media