There’s a new era of Chicago Bears football beginning this fall.
Year two with quarterback Caleb Williams has all the signs of improvement from a 5-12 campaign in 2024 thanks to the hiring of Ben Johnson as head coach and a number of key roster moves.
Those moves include trading for upgrades on the offensive line as well as drafting more reinforcements on offense, specifically at tackle and tight end.
Johnson was hired on a five-year deal that keeps him on the books with the Bears through the 2029 season. The franchise made a move today to ensure he’ll be in place with the team’s current general manager Ryan Poles.
USA TODAY Sports confirmed Chicago signed Poles to an extension to keep him with the team through the 2029 season as well. His contract had two more years left before this extension but now he’ll be on the same timeline as Johnson.
Poles started as general manager with the team in the 2022 NFL season. He oversaw a trade with the Carolina Panthers during the 2023 offseason that ultimately secured the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. The team used that to select Williams, one of the top-rated quarterback prospects of the last decade.
That trade also netted the team wide receiver DJ Moore as well as picks that became right tackle Darnell Wright, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, punter Tory Taylor and wide receiver Luther Burden III.
Williams’ rookie season in 2024 didn’t live up to expectations and the Bears made a mid-season coaching firing for the first time in decades. Chicago lost 10 of its final 11 games and finished the year as the worst offense in the league by yards and 28th by points scored.
Johnson orchestrated the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL in 2024 with Detroit and brings an experienced staff with him to make changes. Longtime New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen is in as the team’s defensive coordinator and former Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy will coach running backs.
Chicago dealt for two-time All-Pro guard Joe Thuney this offseason and signed top free agent center Drew Dalman to upgrade the interior offensive line, a weak point in 2024. The Bears also dealt for former Lions guard Jonah Jackson to provide Johnson a familiar player on the interior offensive line as well.
Ryan Poles record
Poles has been the Bears’ general manager for the last three seasons. In that time, the team has gone 15-36:
2022: 3-14
2023: 7-10
2024: 5-12
Ryan Poles history
Poles played offensive line at Boston College and went undrafted in the 2008 NFL Draft. Chicago signed him as an undrafted free agent that offseason but he ultimately did not make the team.
He returned to Boston College in 2008 as a graduate assistant and moved to the Chiefs a year later, initially as a scouting assistant. He worked his way up in the coming decade to the following positions:
2010-15: College scouting coordinator
2016-18: Director of college scouting
2019-20: Assistant director of player personnel
2021: Executive director of player personnel
He replaced Ryan Pace as the Bears’ general manager in January 2022.