INDIANAPOLIS — Time will tell.
The early feedback on the mushrooming bond between Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson is positive. Poles is convinced he barreled up this latest big swing on reviving the team, and Johnson has injected Halas Hall with a booster shot of energy over the past month.
Poles is most impressed with Johnson’s “clear vision” for what he’s setting out to build.
“Everything I learned about him through the interview process,” Poles said, “has played out really well in person.”
Johnson, too, appreciates the productivity of the back-and-forth. As he sat in during recent weeks on draft evaluation meetings that Poles led, he was encouraged.
“To see how well that machine is clicking, it’s just rolling along,” Johnson said. “It’s very impressive to see. ”
Time will tell, though, what it all amounts to and how quickly the Bears can get on track toward legitimate playoff contention.
As promising as the first month-plus of the Poles-Johnson union feels, the next nine weeks will provide a bigger test as the Bears strut into free agency and later the draft with a scroll of needs to upgrade their roster.
The pass rush needs teeth. The offensive line needs to be almost entirely rebuilt. More depth is needed across the board. An obvious spike in talent would sure help.
And, oh, by the way, constructing a new launch plan for quarterback Caleb Williams has to remain at the center of every conversation.
Both Poles and Johnson are enthusiastic about what they can accomplish between now and May. But both Bears leaders also face a new set of demanding tests as they pursue their goals.
Supporting cast
The hallways of the Indiana Convention Center were abuzz last week at the NFL scouting combine, with many around the league eager to see what impact Johnson’s leadership will have on a Bears franchise that hasn’t reached the divisional round of the playoffs since the 2010 season. (For perspective, most of the prospects participating in this year’s combine were in kindergarten or first grade then.)
For many observers, Johnson’s understanding of how to assemble an accomplished, well-rounded coaching staff is one of his most impressive shows of direction to date. The hirings of defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, defensive backs coach Al Harris, assistant head coach/wide receivers coach Antwaan Randle El and running backs coach Eric Bieniemy have elicited the most praise around the league, and many believe Johnson put together a staff that will be intense in its demands for detail.
Poles saw a hiring process under Johnson that was thorough and calculated.
“He’s very thoughtful in everything he does,” Poles said, “and strategic in terms of the setup and who he wants and the chemistry within the building with the different personalities and experiences everyone brings to the group.”
Beyond that, Johnson’s early impact at Halas Hall will be fueled by his authentic communication style, his natural self-confidence and his active curiosity to learn.
Within league circles, Johnson has earned a reputation as a bright, accomplished offensive chess player. That’s the known quantity he brings to this new job. Over the next six months, he will try to take his leadership skills to new heights, leaning into all the new demands the head coaching role brings.
Outside of the upcoming stretch of talent acquisition, Johnson must establish the energized, challenging atmosphere he wants. And he’ll need to stay in lockstep with Poles to get there.
‘The ownership piece’
Poles’ three-year run alongside former coach Matt Eberflus was largely defined by failure and chaos. The team’s 36 losses since 2022 are the most in franchise history over a three-season period. And the four in-season coach firings over the last two seasons offer a reminder of how turbulent the times have been.
Poles has done his part to overhaul the roster he inherited from predecessor Ryan Pace. Only two Pace draft picks remain: cornerback Jaylon Johnson and tight end Cole Kmet. The only other player under contract for 2025 with ties to the Pace era is kicker Cairo Santos.
But those roster renovations haven’t translated into success. The Bears have finished in last place in the NFC North in all three seasons under Poles’ watch and last season landed a whopping six games out of third place and nine out of second.
Poles’ track record in free agency has been altogether ordinary, with his better signings (Andrew Billings, T.J. Edwards) offset by some high-profile misses — Nate Davis, Gerald Everett and P.J. Walker among them.
Furthermore, Poles’ three draft classes, while offering glimpses of promise, have yet to produce anything that forecasts a run of sustained success. And last season’s 10-game losing streak — 84 days between victories — was the latest reminder the Bears haven’t been built well enough to withstand adversity.
This offseason, given forgiveness by his superiors and a chance to course-correct with Johnson at his side, Poles has two top priorities. Fortifying the lines on both sides of the ball is a must. And needed revisions in the developmental plan for Williams can’t be taken lightly.
On that latter front, Poles has emphasized since the season ended that a concerted effort is needed to improve Williams’ approach. In January, Poles said he wanted Williams “to be challenged to be a professional football player, to do the little things the right way.”
He followed up last week by stressing the need for Williams to understand what preparation for an NFL quarterback must look like — both during his offseason training and within game weeks.
It’s a noble acknowledgment that last season’s NFL orientation process for Williams didn’t unfold smoothly. But it also begs this question: Why was Poles, who was supremely confident in his rookie-season plan for Williams, so far off the mark with how that setup actually functioned?
“That’s part of the ownership piece I’ve got to take,” Poles said.
A new direction for Williams, under Johnson’s supervision, must be set quickly.
“We’ve got to go back down to the foundation,” Poles said. “And when we talk about fundamentals and technique, we have to make sure all that is cleaned up.”
Setting the line
The Bears improvements will be restricted if Williams’ growth can’t be significantly stimulated. To that end, Poles must work closely with Johnson to fortify the offensive line, another area where the GM’s report card has fallen short of expectations during his first three years on the job.
Over the last three offseasons, Poles used only two draft picks inside the top 100 on offensive linemen. The Bears landed starting right tackle Darnell Wright at No. 10 in 2023 and used a third-round pick last spring on Kiran Amegadjie, a project tackle out of the Ivy League who arrived in Lake Forest in the middle of a lengthy injury rehabilitation process and played only 125 snaps across six games as a rookie.
The team’s biggest free-agent acquisition on the offensive line under Poles’ watch was guard Nate Davis: three years, $30 million, $19.25 million guaranteed. The return on investment from that 2023 signing? Davis made only 13 starts for the Bears, proved flaky and unreliable as a teammate and was released in November of his second season.
In short, the restart optimism that always seems to mushroom at Halas Hall when major changes are made must be accompanied soon by evidence the Bears are improving as a football team.
Free agency starts next week. The draft is just seven weeks behind that. Poles and Johnson won’t have much time to catch their breath. But both men feel strongly that a 2025 resurgence is on the horizon.
Time will tell.