Why Ryan Poles’ loyalty is costing the Bears: Silvy

Rollercoaster Ryan.

With Bears general manager Ryan Poles, the thrills keep you coming back. But like drops on a coaster, you can walk away feeling nauseous. It’s why Poles could be one of the toughest Chicago sports figures to understand. Up and down we go as we analyze every move. From the bumpiness of hiring and retaining Matt Eberflus to the screams of ecstasy after the Carolina trade, who wants to ride Raging Bear?

The problem is, Poles’ biggest weakness probably is a quality most perceive as a strength. When Poles believes in a player he really believes in them, even if nobody else does.

It’s the oldest trick in the book. When someone asks for your weakness, answer with something that most people view as a positive quality.

“Silvy, what can you improve on going forward?”

“Well boss, I care too much and sometimes I take my work home with me.”

Or…

“I’m a people pleaser, and go out of my way to make everyone happy, and sometimes don’t think about myself”

This is Ryan Poles. When he believes in you, he tries to hope and wish it into existence rather than cut bait at the right time. He lets emotion rule rather than being shrewd like he’s been when players weren’t his choices.

It all begins with Poles’ initial hire of Eberflus. As I’ve written before, members of the Bears search committee favored Dan Quinn, but Poles identified something he loved about Eberflus. Maybe he wasn’t going to rock his GM boat as much as Quinn would. Eberflus floundered in year two as the Bears losing streak reached 14, had to fire two coaches he hired for HR reasons, failed to beat the Packers, and blew three double-digit fourth quarter leads. It was obvious that Eberflus lacked what the Bears needed and Poles couldn’t afford to make the same mistake of other GMs by drafting a QB for a coach that would eventually be on the hot seat. Obvious to everyone except Poles. This wasn’t just seeing it through, this was wishing upon a stubborn star. And here we are again, Eberflus’ staff looking as bad as ever and Poles with a huge swing and a miss.

Sound familiar?

The same year Poles picked Eberflus, he chose Velus Jones as his first offensive draft pick. And like the coach, Jones wasn’t a highly-hyped prospect. It was more of a reach. Poles saw something in Jones and wanted to be proven right, but Velus floundered. It was again obvious last season that the Bears needed to cut bait with Jones. Instead, Poles brought him back for 2024 and despite a poor training camp, he passed on an opportunity to trade him. Poles got caught hoping again when even the non-trained football eye knew Jones was a bust. On opening day, it took one kickoff for Jones to fumble away his Bears career. He would never really play again and Poles had no choice but to cut him. The GM cannot be the last to understand the reality of the situation.

Shortly before drafting Jones in 2022, Poles identified Bills offensive lineman Ryan Bates as someone to sign to a restricted free agent contract. The Bills matched the offer. Poles had to have him two years later despite Bates dealing with an arthritic shoulder and riding the Bills bench in 2023, so he traded a fifth-round pick for him. Poles insisted Bates be the Bears center despite barely playing the position in his career. Bates has yet to contribute and has been out with the shoulder injury.

Wishing and hoping. You cannot let emotion get in the way.

Poles has it in him to be bold. He did it with team leaders Roquan Smith and Justin Fields and traded both despite it being unpopular in some circles. The difference? Poles didn’t draft either, and there was no emotion involved.

So in a season Poles claimed, “It’s time to win” and the Bears instead take us on another rollercoaster ride, Poles must do some self scouting. If he doesn’t, it won’t just be Eberflus on the hot seat.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.