Chiefs’ Ryan Poles named finalist for Bears’ GM

Log in and read the comments of any online Bears community these days, and you might notice a, how do I put it, palpable anxiety? Chicago is in the process of hiring both a head coach and general manager. After years of silliness at Soldier Field, all would be forgiven if you were concerned about the Bears’ decision-making.

That said, this saga (perhaps a generous term) should soon have a conclusion. The latest development is that the Bears have named the Chiefs’ current executive director of player personnel, Ryan Poles, a finalist for their general manager opening, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

While Poles is a still spry 36-years-old, this news is no surprise to anyone who’s been following the undercurrent of this hiring cycle. That makes three teams—the Bears, Vikings, and Giants—who would each like to hire the former Bear, Poles (blink, and you would’ve missed it) as their general-manager-slash-general-football-puppeteer. For a man who worked his way up through the NFL’s premier organization to become one of their top personnel executives may speak volumes in its own right. Never mind that his name reads a lot like Ryan Pace if you read it too fast—which would be a red flag under normal circumstances.

The Poles’ news also might mean that another Bears general manager candidate like the Browns’ Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is probably out of the running. In any case, while we all continue to speculate with reckless abandon and no regrets, the Bears should have a new head honcho soon.

I say we wait to nitpick whoever it is and break them down only once hired, but who am I kidding?