Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles never called Jim Harbaugh about returning to Chicago

LAKE FOREST – The Bears never reached out to Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh or any other external coaching candidates before deciding to move forward with Matt Eberflus in 2024.

Despite 48 hours of deliberation between the end of the season Sunday and Wednesday morning, when the team announced Eberflus would return, the Bears did not reach out to any coaches outside of Halas Hall.

Asked specifically about Harbaugh, general manager Ryan Poles said, “No. I haven’t talked to Jim. He’s the coach at Michigan.”

He later added that he “didn’t go talk to anybody.” Harbaugh was just one of several intriguing potential coaches out there, but the Bears weren’t interested in any of them.

Poles said he let the dust settle after the season, tried to take the emotions out of it and came to a conclusion over the past two days. He believes he has a head coach in Eberflus who can guide his organization, even when times are tough.

“In terms of his leadership and stability, I really think that the head coach needs to be able to captain the ship when the seas are stormy or when the seas have storms, and really keep everything settled,” Poles said. “When you go through hard times and he can keep everyone together, to me, that’s like the critical piece. In a big market like this, you have to be strong.”

The Bears faced adversity in 2023. They began the season 0-4 and let go of two assistant coaches under unclear circumstances, including defensive coordinator Alan Williams.

Speculation ran wild this week, especially as two days passed with no news out of Halas Hall. The football world watched Harbaugh, a former Bears quarterback, win the national championship with Michigan on Monday night. A decade ago, Harbaugh coached the 49ers to three consecutive NFC championship games, including one Super Bowl appearance.

Harbaugh returned to his alma mater in Ann Arbor largely because of the significance that school played in his life. Some wondered whether the Bears, an organization he played seven seasons for, would have a similar emotional tug at his heart.

But the Bears never called to ask.

Poles said the decision to keep Eberflus was “my decision,” although he took input from team chairman George McCaskey and team president Kevin Warren.

Warren noted that he believes building something the right way takes time. He referenced his first years in the NFL with the Rams in the late 1990s. The Rams were a struggling team before their breakout Super Bowl season in 1999.

I have confidence in [Matt Eberflus], I have confidence in Ryan [poles], in their working relationship.”

—  Kevin Warren, Bears team president

Warren believes it’s important to give Eberflus and Poles time to execute on their vision.

“One thing about Matt: We know him, we’ve worked with him, we understand – everyone in this society, everyone in business, everyone in the NFL, coach, player, we all have blind spots and there’s areas we can improve, but I have confidence in him, I have confidence in Ryan, in their working relationship,” Warren said.