KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s not unusual for NFL teams to raid the front office and coaching staffs of more successful teams.
Few teams in the league have been as successful as the Kansas City Chiefs in recent years, so it’s no surprise other teams want to tap into that.
The Chicago Bears are reportedly set to hire Chiefs Assistant General Manager Ryan Poles as their new general manager, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
Bears are finalizing a deal to hire Chiefs’ Assistant Director of Player Personnel Ryan Poles as their next general manager, per league sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 25, 2022
Poles, 36, is a native of Canandaigua, New York, and currently serves as Kansas City’s executive director of player personnel under GM Brett Veach. He was appointed to that post in June but has been with the Chiefs for 13 years.
He joined the Chiefs in May 2009 as a scouting assistant on former General Manager Scott Pioli’s staff.
He quickly moved up to college scouting coordinator, a role he served in throughout former GM John Dorsey’s tenure.
Under Veach, Poles was promoted to director of college scouting, assistant director of player personnel and eventually executive director of player personnel.
He oversaw “all aspects of the scouting of college football players” for Kansas City.
Outside of Poles, the Bears also interviewed Miami Senior Personnel Executive Reggie McKenzie, Pittsburgh Vice President of Football and Business Administration Omar Khan and Indianapolis Director of College Scouting Morocco Brown for its GM opening.
Meanwhile, Chicago has interviewed Buffalo defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles for its head-coaching vacancy after firing former Kansas City offensive coordinator Matt Nagy earlier this month.
Poles also interviewed for the Minnesota Vikings’ general manager vacancy and with the New York Giants in recent weeks. He interviewed in Carolina the last offseason and has been a finalist for all four jobs, including the one he's poised to accept in Chicago.
Before pursuing a career in the front office, Poles was a player himself.
Poles played offensive line alongside Matt Ryan for Boston College from 2003-07 following in his father’s footsteps. Robert Poles Jr. played for the Eagles from 1979-82.
After briefly signing with the Bears as an undrafted free agent, Poles returned to Boston College as a recruiting graduate assistant before heading to Kansas City.
The Chiefs could also lose offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy this offseason. He interviewed last week Denver.
