You didn’t really answer my question. We both expect the Bears to win this year. I already predicted 10-12 wins. But for various reasons (rookie QB, Lions, etc.), you don’t hold Poles accountable if we are 9-8 and finish behind Lions, Packers, or both. So my question stands. When should he be accountable? 2027,28,29,30,never? That was my question.
He is accountable now and moving forward. Each season will be evaluated. I have said in many posts spanning months now that I expect the team to improve each year and in 2026 be a team that can seriously compete for the championship. If the team falls short of winning a SB that isn't necessarily a "fail" situation that requires everyone getting fired. I would have to see the season itself and determine in my own mind if I think the GM has failed, or not. I don't grade on pass/fail linked to wins alone. There can be reasons beyond a GM's control that can impact a season in a negative way. Injuries for one. If the franchise QB gets IR'd and the injury bug bites some other key players, hey, that team probably isn't going to win a SB, right? Do you fire the GM there? No, I wouldn't. That would be lunacy.
It's in his contract. Not allowed to be IR'd. Plus he is guaranteed a case of twinkies per month. He does his own negotiations and he drives a hard bargain
You didn’t really answer my question. We both expect the Bears to win this year. I already predicted 10-12 wins. But for various reasons (rookie QB, Lions, etc.), you don’t hold Poles accountable if we are 9-8 and finish behind Lions, Packers, or both. So my question stands. When should he be accountable? 2027,28,29,30,never? That was my question.
David -
He becomes accountable when it is obvious that he is not succeeding. Yes, that is subjective and you are looking for an objective date on a calendar. But I don't know when that date will be. To ask for a date in advance is not realistic IMO. There are too many variables. If he gets us to the playoffs for two seasons in a row (or maybe one year) and we lose, but that date on the calendar has not arrived and we have not made it to the SB, do you get rid of him? If we improve every year and we are beating good teams (that would mean he has had more success than any other GM in the recent past), do we get rid of him because we hit an arbitrary date that was decided on years before?
Warren has stated categorically in his press conference this year that the goal is to win the Super Bowl. He didn’t say “get better every year” or “get in the playoffs a couple times”. You are satisfied with those goals, but Warren and I are not. The second notable thing Warren said is that he is “impatient.” Good, because I am also impatient. I will be age 78 this year, and would like Bears to win a Super Bowl before I’m dead. You can sit back and wait 10-15 years. I can’t. As I told motm, that affects one’s time horizon and sense of urgency. Warren isn’t going to wait forever. I can’t predict his EXACT year, but that if the Bears are never Super Bowl ready during Williams rookie contract, his patience will run out, and maybe sooner if we aren’t winning the North.
He is accountable now and moving forward. Each season will be evaluated. I have said in many posts spanning months now that I expect the team to improve each year and in 2026 be a team that can seriously compete for the championship. If the team falls short of winning a SB that isn't necessarily a "fail" situation that requires everyone getting fired. I would have to see the season itself and determine in my own mind if I think the GM has failed, or not. I don't grade on pass/fail linked to wins alone. There can be reasons beyond a GM's control that can impact a season in a negative way. Injuries for one. If the franchise QB gets IR'd and the injury bug bites some other key players, hey, that team probably isn't going to win a SB, right? Do you fire the GM there? No, I wouldn't. That would be lunacy.
It's in his contract. Not allowed to be IR'd. Plus he is guaranteed a case of twinkies per month. He does his own negotiations and he drives a hard bargain
That is taken into account in my definition of “Super Bowl ready”. Poles job is to have a team ready to win the SB. I acknowledge that injuries or blown calls by referees can prevent a win, and that would not be Poles fault and would not be fired. It is never having a Super Bowl ready team that would eventually get him fired. I don’t think Warren is interested in becoming the next Dallas Cowboys, and neither am I.
He becomes accountable when it is obvious that he is not succeeding. Yes, that is subjective and you are looking for an objective date on a calendar. But I don't know when that date will be. To ask for a date in advance is not realistic IMO. There are too many variables. If he gets us to the playoffs for two seasons in a row (or maybe one year) and we lose, but that date on the calendar has not arrived and we have not made it to the SB, do you get rid of him? If we improve every year and we are beating good teams (that would mean he has had more success than any other GM in the recent past), do we get rid of him because we hit an arbitrary date that was decided on years before?
Warren has stated categorically in his press conference this year that the goal is to win the Super Bowl. He didn’t say “get better every year” or “get in the playoffs a couple times”. You are satisfied with those goals, but Warren and I are not. The second notable thing Warren said is that he is “impatient.” Good, because I am also impatient. I will be age 78 this year, and would like Bears to win a Super Bowl before I’m dead. You can sit back and wait 10-15 years. I can’t. As I told motm, that affects one’s time horizon and sense of urgency. Warren isn’t going to wait forever. I can’t predict his EXACT year, but that if the Bears are never Super Bowl ready during Williams rookie contract, his patience will run out, and maybe sooner if we aren’t winning the North.
You win the SB by getting better every year. You can't get there if you don't get better every year. Come on....
He becomes accountable when it is obvious that he is not succeeding. Yes, that is subjective and you are looking for an objective date on a calendar. But I don't know when that date will be. To ask for a date in advance is not realistic IMO. There are too many variables. If he gets us to the playoffs for two seasons in a row (or maybe one year) and we lose, but that date on the calendar has not arrived and we have not made it to the SB, do you get rid of him? If we improve every year and we are beating good teams (that would mean he has had more success than any other GM in the recent past), do we get rid of him because we hit an arbitrary date that was decided on years before?
Warren has stated categorically in his press conference this year that the goal is to win the Super Bowl. He didn’t say “get better every year” or “get in the playoffs a couple times”. You are satisfied with those goals, but Warren and I are not. The second notable thing Warren said is that he is “impatient.” Good, because I am also impatient. I will be age 78 this year, and would like Bears to win a Super Bowl before I’m dead. You can sit back and wait 10-15 years. I can’t. As I told motm, that affects one’s time horizon and sense of urgency. Warren isn’t going to wait forever. I can’t predict his EXACT year, but that if the Bears are never Super Bowl ready during Williams rookie contract, his patience will run out, and maybe sooner if we aren’t winning the North.
The north have become tough. Really tough. Not KC tough, but it is not a cake division
Warren has stated categorically in his press conference this year that the goal is to win the Super Bowl. He didn’t say “get better every year” or “get in the playoffs a couple times”. You are satisfied with those goals, but Warren and I are not. The second notable thing Warren said is that he is “impatient.” Good, because I am also impatient. I will be age 78 this year, and would like Bears to win a Super Bowl before I’m dead. You can sit back and wait 10-15 years. I can’t. As I told motm, that affects one’s time horizon and sense of urgency. Warren isn’t going to wait forever. I can’t predict his EXACT year, but that if the Bears are never Super Bowl ready during Williams rookie contract, his patience will run out, and maybe sooner if we aren’t winning the North.
The north have become tough. Really tough. Not KC tough, but it is not a cake division
I was the guy last year warning about getting eaten by Lions. I will repeat: Getting better every year is not enough if your competition is also getting better. And it’s not just the North. The Texans started same as Poles in 2022, and got Stroud plus have built well around him. They could easily be better than the Bears again this year.
The north have become tough. Really tough. Not KC tough, but it is not a cake division
I was the guy last year warning about getting eaten by Lions. I will repeat: Getting better every year is not enough if your competition is also getting better. And it’s not just the North. The Texans started same as Poles in 2022, and got Stroud plus have built well around him. They could easily be better than the Bears again this year.
ok, so now I have to repeat. If you get better every year, you will get ahead of the competition. It's almost impossible to do that, but if you do you will get there
Warren has stated categorically in his press conference this year that the goal is to win the Super Bowl.
And water is wet. That is the goal for 32 teams in the NFL. But reality is that there are teams who have never won the Super Bowl in the history of their franchise. Reality is that there are teams that have never even MADE it to a Super Bowl in their franchise history. There isn't some perfect formula that you can follow and win one... or for that matter even get to one. Yes, winning that SB is the goal. Just like winning a National Championship is the goal of the college football teams. But reality is that it is really difficult to hit that goal. As long as the Bears are getting closer and closer to getting into a SB - real tangible progress - then I'm fine with that. Just firing people because they haven't won a Super Bowl by 2025 or 2026 is pretty nuts. At least I think so. I continue to hope the team is one that can compete for one in a couple of years.
I expect the team to win more games now. The team has gone from a 3-win to a 7-win season last year. They will do even MORE winning this year. So, of course, Ryan Poles should get credit for turning the Chicago Bears team around... especially in such a short time span. Yes, he is accountable. But I am MORE THEN pleased with this progress. Even with a re-set with a rookie quarterback we should continue to see real progress being made. As you (rightly) pointed out in a post I read a day or so ago, the other NFCN teams are not static. They are trying to improve also. The NFCN is going to be a very tough (maybe THE toughest) division if the entire NFL. So making progress overcoming those teams is a significant improvement for the Bears. The odds makers have the over/under as 8.5 wins this year. I think I'd take the over on that one. Even in a "murderers row" division I believe the Bears will beat the odds this year. I just want to see the team continue to improve significantly - as it has. If that continues then we won't need to worry about anything. Just relax and enjoy this, David. It really reminds me of the early 1980's here. Enjoy this. It doesn't happen very often for Bears fans. I'm still thinking the Bears will have the team ready for a championship run in 2026.
You didn’t really answer my question. We both expect the Bears to win this year. I already predicted 10-12 wins. But for various reasons (rookie QB, Lions, etc.), you don’t hold Poles accountable if we are 9-8 and finish behind Lions, Packers, or both. So my question stands. When should he be accountable? 2027,28,29,30,never? That was my question.
9 games would be a 2 game improvement. Regardless...the real question is WHY did they win 9 games. You try to make everything black and white, and very few things really are.
He becomes accountable when it is obvious that he is not succeeding. Yes, that is subjective and you are looking for an objective date on a calendar. But I don't know when that date will be. To ask for a date in advance is not realistic IMO. There are too many variables. If he gets us to the playoffs for two seasons in a row (or maybe one year) and we lose, but that date on the calendar has not arrived and we have not made it to the SB, do you get rid of him? If we improve every year and we are beating good teams (that would mean he has had more success than any other GM in the recent past), do we get rid of him because we hit an arbitrary date that was decided on years before?
Warren has stated categorically in his press conference this year that the goal is to win the Super Bowl. He didn’t say “get better every year” or “get in the playoffs a couple times”. You are satisfied with those goals, but Warren and I are not. The second notable thing Warren said is that he is “impatient.” Good, because I am also impatient. I will be age 78 this year, and would like Bears to win a Super Bowl before I’m dead. You can sit back and wait 10-15 years. I can’t. As I told motm, that affects one’s time horizon and sense of urgency. Warren isn’t going to wait forever. I can’t predict his EXACT year, but that if the Bears are never Super Bowl ready during Williams rookie contract, his patience will run out, and maybe sooner if we aren’t winning the North.
George Steinbrenner was impatient...Yankees didn't win until he was suspended by the MLB and couldn't be involved with the team.
