I hope Ryan Poles has taken a moment to admire his handiwork.
The Chicago Bears enter Week 14 of the 2025 NFL season with a 9-3 record. Getting to nine wins before the calendar flipped to December meant that the Bears secured their first winning season since 2018. This team enters Packers Week sitting atop the NFC North standings and holding onto the No. 1 seed in the conference as it controls its own destiny from here on out. The turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable. And when I think about where this franchise was at this time last year, it stops me in my tracks and pushes me to appreciate how far this team has come.
It also makes me wonder how much credit Bears General Manager Ryan Poles deserves for the turnaround.
Aug 10, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) on the sidelines against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks – Imagn ImagesBears General Manager Ryan Poles deserves credit for the 2025 turnaround — but how much?
Let me preface the rest of this post by giving Bears GM Ryan Poles his flowers. How can you not give credit where it is due? There are no holdovers in the starting lineup on offense or defense from Ryan Pace’s time as the Bears’ general manager. Meanwhile, Cairo Santos remains the only notable regular contributor who was brought in by Poles’ predecessor. This is very much Poles’ team. And he should be commended for building it.
With that being said, I truly believe that the building of the 2025 Chicago Bears was a collaborative process between GM Ryan Poles and Head Coach Ben Johnson.
There is anecdotal evidence that I simply cannot shake. For instance, Johnson has taken a vocal lead in publicly discussing player evaluation and sharing what he is looking for in NFL Draft picks. Seeing Poles take a backseat to Johnson at press conferences during the offseason is something I stored in my memory bank just in case I had to write a post like this one. And when Poles held an abbreviated press conference (which was a stark change of pace from the lengthy media availability sessions of the past) at the start of training camp, it felt like a confirmation of a shift in the balance of power at Halas Hall.
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There is also empirical evidence, such as Johnson laying out the type of players he wants on his team … and the Bears going out and getting those players. Poles gets the credit as the general manager. But there is a clear philosophical change in the types of guys this team brought in during the offseason, and I do not believe there is a coincidence that the shift coincides with the arrival of the new head coach. Frankly, I think this is a welcome development.
Ben Johnson clearly laid out what he was looking for in players who could contribute to a winning locker room. And to his credit, Ryan Poles executed the plan that was given to him — and to near perfection, I might add. This would not have happened in the past because Luke Getsy, Shane Waldron, and Matt Eberflus were not strong enough personalities and did not have the football sensibilities to move this roster in the right direction. Collaboration only works when partners are pulling from the same end of the rope and know what the heck they are doing.
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The Ben Johnson-Ryan Poles collaborative efforts are most notably seen in the trenches — particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Poles generally doesn’t get the type of credit he should for the offensive line upgrade, but I firmly believe that his plan of attack was strongly influenced by his head coach’s wishes. Even still … Poles deserves credit for a balls-to-the-wall approach to fix the offensive line. The all-in play is the biggest difference between this season and previous campaigns when the Bears’ front office went about building in the trenches with patchwork and hoping it would stay together.
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In the end, I can see where it could be a challenge to give Bears GM Ryan Poles credit for whatever role he played in building the 2025 Chicago Bears. Poles’ missteps were notable and plentiful in his first three years as Bears GM. You and I know what they are, so there is no need to rehash the past or open old wounds. What matters now is what happens moving forward — not just in terms of this week or this year, but for the duration of Poles’ extension.
If the Bears punch a playoff ticket this season, there will be some chatter about Poles as a candidate for the NFL’s Executive of the Year award. We will cross that bridge when we get to it (if we get to it). And if (when?) we do, we can have a deeper conversation. Hopefully, we have a reason to do so.
Aug 10, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles on the sidelines during the second half against the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks – Imagn ImagesHence then, the article about how much credit does bears gm ryan poles deserve for 2025 turnaround was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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