Ryan Poles’ offensive line woes should be a fireable offense

The Chicago Bears are reeling after their third consecutive loss this past Sunday, along with the firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday morning. Significant offensive struggles are the most glaring weakness and cause for Chicago’s 4-5 record, as rookie quarterback Caleb Williams is now on paced to be sacked over 60 times this season. Although poor play-calling has been viewed as an attributor for the frequent sacks, it is vital to look at general manager Ryan Poles’ inability to build a stable offensive line over his three-year tenure, especially given his background as an offensive lineman.

Ryan Poles’ offensive line experience and front office experience with Kansas City gives him no excuse not to have fixed Chicago’s offensive line

Ryan Poles was hired by the Chicago Bears back in January of 2022 from the Kansas City Chiefs and was expected to overhaul the Bears’ roster by bringing in young talent via the NFL Draft.  From 2016 to 2021, Poles served as either the Director of College Scouting or Executive Director of Player Personnel, and was a part of a mini-rebuild of the Chiefs offensive line following the Super Bowl 55 loss. In the Super Bowl loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, quarterback Patrick Mahomes sacked three times and consistently pressured, leading to Kansas City revamping their offensive line in one offseason.

In the 2021 NFL Draft, Poles and the Chiefs drafted center Creed Humphrey and tackle Trey Smith, while also signing guard Joe Thuney, as all three have become cornerstone pieces to the current Super Bowl success that Kansas City has had. In the three years, Ryan Poles has been the Bears’ general manager, he has failed to draft an offensive lineman that has been turned into a perennial starter or elite-level talent. The best lineman drafted over the last three years by Chicago has been tackle Darnell Wright, who made the Pro Football Writers Association’s All-Rookie team in 2023.

Since taking over as general manager in 2022, Poles has utilized six of his 26 draft selections on offensive linemen, including selected four in the 2022 NFL Draft. Through the 2024 campaign, only four selections remain with Chicago, as Wright, Braxton Jones, Doug Kramer, and Kiran Amegadjie all have started at least once in 2024. The issue at hand is that none of Ryan Poles’ linemen outside of Wright and Jones, have been consistently reliable.

Additionally, Poles’ has struggled to sign any quality free agent offensive linemen, as he has had more misses than actual success stories. The most significant lineman free agent signing over Ryan Poles’ tenure with the Bears has been the signing of Nate Davis back in 2023, which has been a complete disaster. Davis signed a three-year deal worth 30 million dollars and has now been released by Chicago following consistent issues with his dedication as he has been a healthy scratch most of the 2024 season due to those issues.

This past offseason, with the opportunity draft Williams first overall in the NFL Draft and finally bring Chicago a generational quarterback, Poles spent more resources to add weapons at the skill positions rather than build out the offensive line. Chicago’s general manager brought in interior lineman Ryan Bates and Matt Pryor via free agency and trade, yet passed up signing more proven talent such as center Connor Williams. The failures to build the line by consistently finding talent via the draft and free agency, has largely contributed to why Chicago’s offensive line has given up 16 sacks in their last two losses.

Ryan Poles’ execution and decision-making makes him unreliable to fix the offensive line after 2024

Given that Ryan Poles has had three off seasons to fix Chicago’s offensive, especially knowing that his team had a legitimate chance to select Williams midway through the 2022 season, it is mind boggling that there hasn’t been more talent added or scouted along the offensive line.

It is even more troubling when you consider how Poles was a key figure in helping the Chiefs ace the offseason leading up to the 2021 season, by helping them draft two significant starters, who are key pieces on their current starting offensive line. The question now has to be asked if the general manger can be trusted to find the right pieces to add to the line this upcoming offseason, along with likely having to hire a new head coach too.

Following the firing of Shane Waldron, there have to be legitimate concerns if Poles is the correct executive for the job now that he has failed at correctly identifying the best candidate to oversee Williams’ development at the quarterback position. Having three years to solidify the offensive line and only finding one legitimate talent in Wright, what reassurances are there that Ryan Poles will that be able to find two, if not three, quality linemen this upcoming offseason. The failure to do so this past offseason, along with the botched offensive coordinator hiring is a qualified reason to be fired at season’s end.

Although all eyes and scrutiny are focused on head coach Matt Eberflus, it needs to be focused evenly, if not, more on Poles given what has transpired in 2024. The general manager’s front office work with the Chiefs provides too much evidence of how an NFL franchise is able to go about rebuilding a specific part of a roster. Through his three seasons in charge of the Bears’ roster, Ryan Poles has surprisingly done a better job building the defensive side of the rather than the offensive side.

The Chicago Bears have eight games remaining in their 2024 campaign, and it will be interesting to see what transpires with the offense under the guidance of new offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. Brown will be tasked to get the best play out of Chicago’s current offensive line personnel because it is what Ryan Poles has put together. Chicago’s offensive line issues have already led to one play-caller getting fired ten weeks into the season, and could result in the head coach and general manager being let go at season’s end.