CHICAGO — While much of Chicago celebrated Sunday afternoon as the Bears lost to the Minnesota Vikings and the Houston Texans became accidental magicians in Indianapolis, general manager Ryan Poles insists he wasn’t feeling it.
Poles emphasized Tuesday that he wasn’t glued to a television set at Soldier Field to see whether a “Bears loss/Texans win” combo platter would bring him the No. 1 pick in April’s NFL draft.
In fact, Poles said, when he learned of the Texans’ last-minute comeback shenanigans that pushed the Bears to the top of the draft board, he shrugged as he headed for the locker room.
“I just wasn’t in the mood for it,” he said.
The next day, when a buddy drove past in the neighborhood and offered a greeting, Poles stutter-stepped around the congratulatory shout-out for helping the Bears to No. 1 in his first season running the team.
Congratulations? OK. Sure.
“I’m still not in that mindset right now,” Poles said. “It hurts. It hurts to be in that position. Obviously, with the opportunities and the things that will come from that, I hope it helps us. But you’re always expecting to win. You don’t want to be in this position.”
On this all Bears fans should agree. This is never-again jubilation that has infected the city, a jamboree that should not be replicated. To claim the No. 1 pick, the Bears had to solidify themselves as the worst team in the NFL, losing more games than any other group in the franchise’s 103-season history.
Much of that failure was predictable and by design, a necessary step back after the total reboot of last winter. But now it’s time for Poles to do something about the extreme struggles with a window of opportunity that may never again be this big or this beautiful.
Poles has resources galore in the form of draft capital and salary-cap space. The No. 1 pick gives the Bears tremendous flexibility as they plot their offseason strategies. They either will wind up with the prospect they believe to be the best in the draft or can hold an auction for the top pick to add resources upon resources to their rebuilding efforts.
And with more than $110 million of cap space available to take into free agency in March, Poles will have few restrictions when the spring shopping begins.
He also has a promising young playmaker at the most important position, with quarterback Justin Fields’ 2022 breakthrough not only energizing the building and the city, but also creating an extraordinary level of forgiveness and support.
For that, Poles is appreciative.
“I was blown away this season — at the stadium, around town, at restaurants — with the amount of understanding,” Poles said. “(People) know where this organization is and where it’s headed. I appreciate their patience.
“I know they’ve been waiting a long time to (experience) sustained success for a long period of time. But I thought it was really cool to meet a lot of people who understood where we are going, what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Now … about that vision for 2023?
“My expectation, our expectation,” Poles said, “is that we move the needle to be more successful. We can win some of these close games and bring in guys who can impact this football team.”
Sound check
Those who know Poles best understand that the string of close losses in an eight-week period from early October through Thanksgiving aggravated and gnawed at him.
“It feels like part of your football soul gets ripped out when you have to do that over and over and over again,” he said Tuesday.
To which this scarred football city responded with a passionate “Amen!”
But now Poles will operate in 2023 with awareness that all the understanding he received in his first season as GM will be replaced by pressure.
He acknowledged the need to add as many playmakers as possible and cited the “premium” positions he would like to solidify first: pass rusher, offensive line and cornerback.
Yet Poles also said he must balance his urgency and eagerness with a proper mix of patience and discipline. He cautioned those expecting a full-on spring shopping spree.
“I want to stair-step this thing to the top and then stay up there as long as possible,” Poles said. “I always go back to making sound decisions. And sometimes when you don’t make sound decisions in the short term, it can look really good. But then it’s what happens after (that’s problematic).
“So we want to make decisions that can last a long time so we can stay at the top. We don’t want to peak and then have the drop-off after.”
This is the practical way to look at things. At Halas Hall, though, it also sometimes feels like a pie-in-the-sky aspiration, given that the Bears haven’t enjoyed three consecutive winning seasons since 1988 and have staggered through 30 post-Mike Ditka seasons with 11 last-place finishes and only four playoff victories.
Poles isn’t just being asked to climb a mountain. He’s expected to move it.
The next step
To his credit, Poles has been grounded and realistic with his evaluations of the team since taking over a year ago. He knows where he wants this team to be headed and understands how far away that is.
He affirmed his commitment to Fields on Tuesday while also saying the door to using the No. 1 pick on a quarterback is not 100% shut.
“I would have to be absolutely blown away to make that type of decision,” Poles explained.
Later Poles was asked to name players beyond Fields whom he would identify as blue-chip building blocks. He quickly praised tight end Cole Kmet. But in the moment he couldn’t rattle off another name.
That was another eye-opening moment that spoke to the quality of the current roster and how much heavy lifting is ahead.
“I know this team has a long way to go,” Poles said.
Now is the chance to start going — like really going — in a direction that can position the Bears for prolonged achievement. After a 2022 season defined by low expectations, Poles is working under different dynamics with his stated goal of “taking the next step.”
While open for interpretation, that’s a mission that Poles and coach Matt Eberflus need to accomplish in 2023, especially with the outside world giddy with best-case-scenario dreams of what all these resources might produce.
“I don’t know if that necessarily creates pressure for me,” Poles said. “I think I put pressure on myself and we put pressure on each other to be the absolute best. As we go, the plan is to sustain success. I think that’s enough pressure.”
