Ryan Poles reflects on 2022 season |
The Chicago Bears will have the first pick in the draft for the first time since 1941; this season was arguably the worst in the team’s history. While most general managers would have a lot of negative things to say, general manager, Ryan Poles is choosing to focus on the positive and building a better team for the future.
“Reflecting back on the whole season, what I was proud about was just building this foundation that we set out to do, and that was being disciplined,” Poles said. “That was toughness. It was creating a family bond.” Of course, everyone wants to focus on the losses. After all, 14 was the most ever in one season for the Chicago Bears. Poles didn’t deny the fact that those losses hurt, but he still wants to focus on the positives of moving past this season and building toward next season and beyond. “We all know that this building was hurting after those losses,” Poles said. “But I know what we accomplished, and now it’s a healthy organization that we can build off of.” Right now, the Bears have $115,990,265 in salary cap space. To provide some perspective on how much money that is, the next closest team, the Atlanta Falcons, have $56,374,608 in salary cap space. Obviously, the Bears have a lot more money to work with than any other team, which also puts them in contention for pretty much any big-name player that becomes available this off-season. This also gives them a great deal of flexibility in how they choose to use this money, whether it’s the big-name players like wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins or offensive lineman Orlando Brown. Poles, however, stressed the importance of using this money wisely because there are a number of factors that influence having a player come to your organization. “I think any general manager, any head coach in the NFL just wants flexibility, the ability to acquire more, more talent, the ability to move around and really take advantage of opportunities that present themselves,” Poles said. “Just because you have it, that doesn’t mean you got to go, you know, go crazy with it. You go to be sound. Does it fit your culture? Do the players fit your scheme? All of those things have to be in play.” Poles also took the opportunity to talk about first-year head coach, Matt Eberflus. Other head coaches who did not have successful seasons were let go by their organizations, such as Lovie Smith from Houston (3-13-1 record) and Kliff Kingsbury from Arizona (4-13). That is not at all something that the Bears are even considering doing. In fact, Poles is rather pleased with Eberflus’s first season as head coach of the Chicago Bears. “He’s everything I thought he was going to be,” Poles said. “The guy’s rock solid when he is in front of the team. It’s authentic, and they feel it never wavered through the ups and downs.” One thing for Bears fans to keep in mind is that just because the Bears had this kind of season this year does not mean they cannot turn it around to be in playoff contention next season. Are the Bears going to make the Super Bowl next season? Probably not. But, it should be noted that teams are generating faster turnarounds recently. Just look at the Detroit Lions this season, or better yet, the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had the No. 1 pick in the draft in 2021 and 2022. Now they are division leaders. The Bears should not be discounted next year, especially if they do use their money and picks right, as Poles intends to do.
