Ryan Poles made his mark on NFL news headlines when the Chicago Bears brought him on as their new general manager in January of 2022. Before agreeing to take the high-profile role, however, Poles cut his teeth in the league with the Kansas City Chiefs. From starting off as a scouting assistant in 2009, he worked his way up the ladder to become the executive director for player personnel more than a decade later.
As such, it comes as no surprise that Poles is taking whatever knowledge he gained in Kansas City to his role as the top decision-maker in Chicago. In a recent interview, the 37-year-old got brutally honest about how much of his success in KC figures in his day-to-day with the Bears.
Ryan Poles Spills On How He’s Using Success With Chiefs For His Role In Chicago
Having spent 13 years with the Chiefs, Poles definitely learned a thing or two about how that organization operates. In fact, he played his part in the team’s recent success, including their Super Bowl title run in 2020. Poles was there from the start, and he was a first-hand witness of how Kansas City built their squad. Right now, he’s hoping to replicate that same blueprint with Chicago:
“It definitely rubs off on you,” Poles said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “Build through the draft.
“You see guys mature. Travis Kelce stands out to me as one … just a guy that you watch him in college, and he comes in, I think he got hurt early, and you see him mature and grow and connect with a quarterback, and all of a sudden he’s the best tight end to ever play. That’s so rewarding as a scout to see that kind of journey.”
Poles’ plan was abundantly clear the moment he stepped in as Chicago’s GM. He traded away his team’s No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for DJ Moore. Guys like Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, and Roquan Smith were also shown the door in exchange for draft capital.
Poles found a lot of success with the Chiefs, to the point that by the time he left, he had supreme confidence in the process they took to get to the top — one that he hopes to achieve in Chicago as well:
“I remember almost being borderline cocky walking in the stadium like, ‘All right, we’re gonna win this game; there’s an 80% chance we’re gonna win this game,'” Poles said. “That’s a really fun place to be when you get to that spot.
“I don’t know if we’ll get to it at that level, but I wanna have a good product where everyone’s happy and we can compete for championships.”
Chicago Looking To Exact Revenge On Green Bay In 2023
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Last season, Green Bay went 2-0 against Chicago in their seasons series. The Packers blew out their rivals, 27-10, in their first meeting of the season in Lambeau Field. Chicago didn’t fare much better in Soldier Field in December, with Green Bay still emerging victorious, 28-19.
It’s going to be much different this season, though. Green Bay lost their cornerstone superstar Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets in the offseason, and obviously, they’re going to be a much different squad without the four-time NFL MVP. This is exactly why Chicago will want to draw first blood when these two sides open their respective seasons against each other on September 10th.
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