Ryan Poles’ Latest Comments Suggest the Bears Are About to Go All-In
Ryan Poles is no fool. He understands the Chicago Bears have been in this position before. They finally break through the playoffs after a lengthy absence, win the division, and look poised to reach a Super Bowl. That is what happened in 2018. Unfortunately, the team wasn’t able to build on their success from that season, stagnating with back-to-back 8-8 years before regressing to the basement again. When Poles took over, he knew he had to find a way to sustain the Bears’ success whenever it finally came.
That moment arrived in 2025. The Bears went 11-6, beat the Packers in the wild card round, and were an overtime away from the NFC Championship. Head coach Ben Johnson said the team would have to start over from scratch, rebuilding everything from the ground up to get this team to the mountaintop. Poles had his own comments on the situation. While proud of the progress made, he acknowledged that what they’ve done wasn’t enough.
From the sound of things, the Bears might be more aggressive this spring than people realize.
“I am proud of the progress that we’ve made. And knowing that, we can’t be complacent. We’ve got to keep pushing forward. [Johnson and I] both come from organizations (Detroit and Kansas City) that have stacked success in back-to-back years. We know the challenge that comes with having success and then trying to get back to that the following year.
“I can tell you right now, we’re all excited for that challenge in terms of building this team back up, making tweaks, tightening screws on the process, and the people that we need to continue to elevate for us to get back to where we were and exceed that, and win championships around here.”
Ryan Poles will likely take an approach of calculated aggression.
That is to say, he won’t break the bank trying to chase a Super Bowl in 2026 or bust. More it will be an effort to secure one or two difference-makers on the veteran market before seeking another strong draft class in April. Some may believe this means he will try to deliver a blockbuster moment via trade, say for Maxx Crosby or another big name. The more likely scenario is that he frees up enough salary cap space to grab one or two prominent free agents who can fill key voids on the roster.
The point is, Ryan Poles has no plans to rest on his laurels. It would be so easy for a conservative GM to just maintain the status quo. This team was one throw away from the NFC championship game. There is no reason to change too much, right? Wrong. All this year proved is that the team isn’t good enough. They’re better, sure. Not good enough to be champions. That is why he must keep pushing. Push until that Lombardi trophy is in his hands. Don’t expect the Bears to be passive a few months from now.