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We’re still early on into the Ryan Poles-Matt Eberflus era — it’s only April — but Bears Chairman George McCaskey likes what he’s seen so far from the new regime.
“I’m very impressed with how both Ryan and Matt have hit the ground running, getting us off to a good start in 2022,” McCaskey said at the NFL owners meetings. “I’m especially impressed with Ryan’s demeanor. Very self-possessed, very confident. Patient. Disciplined.”
Poles hasn’t made a splash so far in free agency, but he’s carefully crafted a roster where he hasn’t had to overspend and added some potential contributors to one-year prove-it deals. It’s the kind of low-risk, high-reward you’d expect from the first-year GM.
As for what McCaskey is looking for in Year 1 from Poles and Eberflus, he obviously mentioned his “goal is to win a Super Bowl” mantra before sharing a more realistic goal.
“What we’re looking for is progress,” McCaskey said. “How are they putting the team together? How are they working together? Are we moving forward? Are we doing the right things? Are we doing them in the right way?”
Poles and Eberflus aren’t exactly in an ideal situation following the previous regime of Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy. Poles has had to clean up Pace’s mess with the roster, although Eberflus is inheriting a team with some key pieces in Justin Fields, Roquan Smith, Darnell Mooney and Jaylon Johnson.
While it’s important to make progress, it’s hard to imagine this Bears team doing much in 2022 as Poles is rebuilding the team from the ground up — with the exception of those key pieces. But it’ll be easier to mark progress from Year 1 to as early as Year 3.