The Bears finally got their guy when they hired new general manager Ryan Poles on Tuesday. The platitudes have been expressed and the “get to work” videos have been released. But some fans are still left wondering, “Who is Ryan Poles?” Hopefully this brief bio should shed some more light on the man who’s been charged with leading the front office at Halas Hall.
Before taking the job at Halas Hall, the 36-year-old Poles had spent the last 13 years working in the Chiefs organization, most recently as their executive director of player personnel. Poles comes from a scouting background with an emphasis on the college game, and joined Kansas City’s front office as a scouting assistant in 2009. Over his 13-year tenure in Kansas City he earned five internal promotions en route to becoming their executive director of player personnel. It’s worth noting that Poles was the team’s director of college scouting in 2017, so he was leading the Chief’s college scouting efforts when the team traded up to draft Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs also opted to keep Poles on staff through three GM regimes: those of Scott Pioli, John Dorsey and Brett Veach.
The Bears added more information regarding Poles’ background in their introductory announcement.
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“Poles oversaw all aspects of the college scouting across the country for the Chiefs while assisting with the pro personnel process and preparing for free agency. He also assisted General Manager Brett Veach with the coordination of the NFL Draft and overseeing the team’s out-of-town area scouts. Poles was instrumental in helping the Chiefs land top draft prospects such as All-Pros Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. This past season the Chiefs tied for second in the NFL with six Pro Bowl selections in Mahomes, Kelce, Tyreek Hill, Orlando Brown, Chris Jones and Tyrann Mathieu and tied for first in the NFL with seven selections in 2020. In total since 2009, the Chiefs have had 69 Pro Bowl selections with 28 different players.”
Poles has actually had a short career with the Bears before becoming the team’s general manager. He signed with the team as an undrafted free agent in 2008, but didn’t make that team’s final roster.
Poles played college ball, too. He was an offensive tackle for the Boston College Eagles from 2004-2007, so he protected the likes of Quinton Porter, Chris Crane and future NFL star Matt Ryan. He was recognized with the Paul Cavanaugh Award in 2007, an award Boston College hands out to players whose “collective on and off the field accomplishments speaks volumes about his commitment to balance, a level-headed outlook on life, and perspective on volunteerism, ethics and the community.”
Per the Bears’ bio, “Poles also was named to two “40 Under 40” lists in the past three years: Ingram’s Magazine in 2019 and by The Athletic in 2021.”
