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The right thing? Bears GM Ryan Poles is still looking for a few more good men

On the eve of the Bears’ 2024 season, general manager Ryan Poles was not only happy with the roster improvements he made, he was proud of them.

“I’m proud of the process we have in place,” Poles said. “It’s not just about attracting the best talent, it’s also about attracting the right talent. I think that’s what you see in this building. It’s something special. The group of guys – it’s really special.”

A 5-12 season later, Poles had to acknowledge the harsh reality that his roster, filled with the right people, was almost as much part of the problem as the solution. Not only did cornerback Tyrique Stevenson’s departure lead to the worst moment of the season – the Hail Mary debacle against the Commanders – but with all the leadership, culture and Kumbaya chemistry of the good locker room the Poles had built, the Bears bounced back never again.

They responded with a dud against the Cardinals in which the defense, so determined to make up for the Hail Mary failure, allowed a 53-yard rushing touchdown by Cardinals backup Emari Demercado in the final seconds of the first half. They responded to that dud with a 7-2 loss to the 19-3 Patriots at Soldier Field.

And so it went – ten straight losses before a 24-22 victory over the Packers, who were without quarterback Jordan Love, wide receiver Christian Watson and running back Josh Jacobs in the second half.

The Bears praised their resilience – they never gave up, they said. But as it turned out, the Bears needed more than a group of players who could get along and show up to work every day under difficult circumstances. And even the Poles had to admit that a team with eight captains had a leadership problem.

“We will definitely take that into consideration as we add more talent to the roster,” Poles said when asked if the locker room needed more leadership. “I also challenged some of our people in some of our exit meetings to take the next step toward leadership.”

The Bears needed one of those locker room posters like “Play like a champion today” or “Those who stay become champions” – only with a more real message: “If you see something, say something.” This team didn’t do that.

“I was in the same category and some of our guys were also like, ‘I saw this…should I say something about it?’ ‘Should I move up?'” Poles said. “And I encouraged all these people that we have to come to this place. We’ve been together long enough. There was continuity. We will no longer take things personally with each other, both in the front office and in football operations, but also in the locker room and in coaching.

“We need to be able to have a healthy friction to say, ‘Hey, we shouldn’t do it like that.’ Let’s clean up and get better because that will show later in the season.”

The Bears have had eight captains, but no one who stepped up and challenged his teammates like cornerback Jaylon Johnson challenged Matt Eberflus after the Lions game at Ford Field. Their captains were either too young, too new, or just not Type-A personalities who didn’t care what their teammates thought of him – rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, Johnson, wide receiver DJ Moore, safety Kevin Byard, tight ends Cole Kmet and Marcedes Lewis and linebackers TJ Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds.

(Interestingly, the player who took the most active and public leadership role – third-year safety Jaquan Brisker – was not elected captain.)

It is a difficult situation for the Poles. Improving the offensive and defensive lines can happen in free agency and the draft. But he has the character in the locker room that he wants, and from a leadership perspective, he has failed in 2024. It’s not enough to have good players that teammates admire and respect. The Bears need leaders – or a leader – for their teammates to follow.

Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears

Pursuing candidates as part of the Bears’ comprehensive head coaching search.

Chicago Bears interim head coach Thomas Brown watches from the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024.

As interim coach of the Bears, he went 1-4.

John Fox

Hiring a head coach in the NFL is hard enough. It’s even harder to predict how an assistant will perform as a head coach. But that’s how the Bears have operated for almost their entire 105-year history.

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