The Bears made the hiring of Ryan Poles as their new General Manager official Tuesday night.
Poles, 36, spent the past 13 seasons working with the Chiefs as a player personnel assistant (2009), college scouting administrator (2010-12), college scouting director (2013-16), director of college scouting (2017), assistant director of player personnel (2018-20) and executive director of player personnel (2021).
“We are thrilled to be able to add someone of Ryan’s background and football expertise to our organization,” Bears chairman George McCaskey said in a statement. “His accomplishments with the Chiefs speak for themselves and amplified the team’s standing as one of the premier franchises in professional sports. We are confident that under his leadership, we will reach our goal of bringing a Super Bowl championship to Chicago.”
Poles replaces Ryan Pace, whom the team fired Jan. 10. The Bears interviewed 13 candidates the past 13 days, also speaking with Glenn Cook, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Champ Kelly, Jeff Ireland, Monti Ossenfort, Joe Schoen, Ed Dodds, Eliot Wolf, Ran Carthon, Reggie McKenzie, Omar Khan and Morocco Brown.
Poles signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2008, but he did not make the final roster.
“I am extremely grateful to George, the McCaskey family and the rest of the Bears organization for this opportunity,” Poles said. “The Chicago Bears are one of the flagship franchises in the National Football League and are recognized as one of the most prestigious clubs in all of sports. It’s an honor for me to join such a well-regarded organization. Together with my family, I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running to help get this organization, its fanbase and the city what they deserve: a winning team and a Super Bowl trophy.”
Kansas City will receive a third-round pick in 2022 and a third-round pick in 2023 as a reward for developing a minority General Manager hired by another team.