How Ryan Poles failed Caleb Williams: Silvy

One man casually chewed his gum. The other laid on the bench for a moment while everything hurt.

It was a perfect summation in two pictures that explained the entire season.

There was Bears GM Ryan “Bazooka Joe” Poles chomping away, the man who finally found Chicago the quarterback we have waited for, watching that very same QB nearly break thanks to the landmines set up around him all season.

It is inexcusable and unforgivable how Poles has failed Caleb Williams.

Eight straight losses. The second longest losing streak in Bears history. Poles has the longest skid as well at 14 games. The Bears haven’t won a game in the United States since all the leaves were on the trees Oct. 6. Now the entire foundation has fallen. The rebuild needs a rebuild.

In 105 years of football, Poles is the architect of the two longest losing streaks, and it took him just three seasons.

It has been more than a year since the Bears won their last road game and division game – November 27, 2023, against the Vikings.

Poles declaration on “Hard Knocks” that “It’s time to win” never traveled.

The Bears haven’t scored a point in the first half in their past three games – outscored 54-0.

Williams has been sacked a whopping 58 times, 76 is the all time NFL record for a single season. Williams' 58 in a season in the 13th most in league history.

The amount of ineptitude surrounding this Bears team is staggering. Worse than even Phil Emery/Marc Trestman. Poles has so badly misevaluated his own team, he brags weekly about the Bears' resilience and character as recently as Monday night in Minnesota.

Resilient?

The Bears allowed one play, one lousy play against Washington to ruin the entire season. They didn’t show up in Arizona. They got steamrolled the following week by the horrible Patriots. The “character” of the team overthrew the offensive coordinator and head coach and then laid down in San Francisco getting outgained 319-4 in the first half.

What is Poles watching? If he can’t evaluate the obvious state of his own team, how can we trust him to fix the issues that are obvious to the rest of us. This is much bigger than allowing him a second chance at a coach or fixing a few mistakes, there is a disconnect between Poles and what is reality with his football team.

Last year two coaches were dismissed for HR violations. This year, Matt Eberflus was the first head coach fired during the season in Bears history. All under Poles’ watch.

It was obvious that Eberflus and a new quarterback shouldn’t be paired together last offseason. Poles allowed it to happen.

It was obvious Velus Jones couldn’t play. Poles elected not to trade him, only to cut him a few weeks later. It was obvious the offensive line needed to be fixed in the offseason, Poles ignored it with real solutions.

If the Bears GM can’t see obvious things that the untrained eye can see, how can we trust him to fix this? The answer also is obvious. We can’t. Unfortunately, the coaching search must become a GM/coaches search and Poles must go.

We don’t even need a ledger of his acquisitions, it is so unbalanced to the mediocre/bad side after the Carolina trade.

I was duped. I thought Poles was different and could build something sustainable. I was all in to start the season thinking the Bears were ready to turn the corner despite the coach and offensive line. I was wrong.

So now, I won’t stubbornly stick by him like the team stood by Eberflus or like they’re doing with the downtown stadium project. Good football people know when to call an audible, instead Poles called Eberflus his Andy Reid at the combine last spring.

All that’s left in the final three games is a fractured locker room, more snaps for Williams to develop, with a prayer he doesn’t get hurt. The organization has done enough damage to its prized first overall pick.

We’ll continue to watch although this season was pronounced dead long ago – I’ve been through the five stages of Bears grief and have gotten better at it over the years with much practice. The one stage that I’ll never allow is acceptance. Neither should the Bears. We’ll find out if they do and whether Poles is allowed to stay.

• 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.