Chicago Bears Hire Top NFL Executive As New General Manager

NFL: AUG 14 Preseason - Dolphins at Bears

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The Chicago Bears have found their next general manager.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo report the Kansas City Chiefs director of player personnel Ryan Poles has accepted the Bears' GM vacancy.

Poles, 36, was also reportedly in the second interview stage with the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings for their respective general manager positions prior to accepting Chicago's offer.

Rapoport reports Poles spent Tuesday (January 25) interviewing with the Bears "and impressed all the way," prior to official confirmation on a deal being reached.

Garafolo reports the Bears wanted to reach a deal with Poles prior to his interview with the Vikings, which was scheduled to take place later in the day on Tuesday.

Poles spent the past 13 season working in the Chiefs' front office, having initially joined the franchise as a player personnel assistant in 2009.

The 36-year-old severed as director of college scouting in 2017 and assistant director of player personnel from 2018-10 before being promoted to executive director of player personnel in 2021.

The Chiefs are scheduled to appear in their fourth consecutive AFC Championship Game this week and would earn their third consecutive Super Bowl berth with a victory against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday (January 30).

Former Bears general manager Ryan Pace was fired on January 10, the same day as former head coach Matt Nagy.

Pace was hired as the Bears' general manager in 2015 and brought in Nagy's predecessor, John Fox, as his first coaching hire, which led to a 14-34 stretch during his first three seasons.

Nagy was hired as Chicago's head coach in 2018 and saw immediate success during his first season, which included a 12-4 first-place finish in the NFC North and playoff appearance.

However, the Bears never improved their record from the previous year during each of Nagy's next three seasons, finishing at 8-8 in 2019; 8-8 in 2020 and 6-11 in 2021.

Nagy's tenure in Chicago concludes with a 34-31 overall record, including a 0-2 record in two playoff appearances (2018, 2020).


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