NFL

New Bears GM Ryan Poles steps up search for Nagy successor

By Sports Desk January 25, 2022

Ryan Poles got straight down to work as general manager of the Chicago Bears on Tuesday, interviewing Jim Caldwell for the role of head coach.

After landing the GM job earlier in the day, Poles set about the process of securing a successor to Matt Nagy, with veteran former Colts and Lions coach Caldwell just one figure in the frame.

While the 67-year-old Caldwell already has plenty of top-level experience, Poles is a man on the rise. He joins the Bears having previously served as executive director of player personnel with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Bears chairman George H. McCaskey said of the appointment of the 36-year-old Poles: "We are thrilled to be able to add someone of Ryan's background and football expertise to our organisation.

"His accomplishments with the Chiefs speak for themselves and amplified the team's standing as one of the premier franchises in professional sports. We are confident that under his leadership, we will reach our goal of bringing a Super Bowl championship to Chicago."

That is the target that Poles pointed to, also, although the Bears have only previously won the Super Bowl once before, in the 1985 season. Poles was born in 1985.

The new general manager said on the team's website: "I am extremely grateful to George, the McCaskey family and the rest of the Bears organisation for this opportunity.

"Together with my family, I'm looking forward to hitting the ground running to help get this organisation, its fanbase and the city what they deserve: a winning team and a Super Bowl trophy."

The highly rated Poles had also been on a list of candidates for GM jobs with the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings.

The Bears limped in third in the NFC North this season with a 6-11 record, their worst performance since going 5-11 in 2017.

Coach Nagy and GM Ryan Pace were sacked at the season's end, and Nagy's replacement has yet to be confirmed, with Dan Quinn, Matt Eberflus and Caldwell reportedly three contenders for that post.

Chicago lost Super Bowl XLI to the Indianapolis Colts after the 2006 season and reached the NFC Championship Game - where they were beaten by the Green Bay Packers - in 2010, both under the guidance of Lovie Smith.

They are winless from just two post-season appearances since, as the Packers continue to dominate the NFC North.

Related items

  • Commanders add coveted cornerback Lattimore ahead of NFL trade deadline Commanders add coveted cornerback Lattimore ahead of NFL trade deadline

    A handful of teams made moves ahead of Tuesday's NFL trade deadline in an attempt to bolster their play-offs hopes.

    Three first-place teams - the Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers - all swung deals, and we'll find out in just over three months if any of these trades help those franchises capture a Super Bowl championship.

    The Commanders acquired perhaps the biggest name on the trade market, picking up cornerback Marshon Lattimore from the scuffling New Orleans Saints.

    The Commanders shipped a third-, fourth- and sixth-round pick to the Saints for the four-time Pro Bowler, as well as a fifth-round draft pick.

    The 28-year-old Lattimore was named 2017 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, and though he has been slowed by injuries to his hamstring and abdomen the past few seasons, he is still considered one of the best shutdown defensive backs in the league, having not allowed a touchdown to be scored on him in coverage since 2021.

    He has 15 interceptions in his eight pro seasons, but doesn't have one in seven games this year.

    Lattimore goes from a New Orleans team that is in the midst of a seven-game losing streak and had just fired coach Dennis Allen on Monday to a Washington team that is 7-2 and is surprisingly atop the NFC East.

     

     

    Lions add pass rusher Smith in trade with Browns

    The Lions opened the final day of trading by acquiring pass rusher Za'Darius Smith from the Cleveland Browns for a fifth-round pick and a sixth-rounder in 2026. The Lions are also receiving a seventh-round pick in 2026 from the Browns.

    Detroit (7-1) had been looking to upgrade its pass rush after star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson fractured his left tibia and fibula back in Week 6, and Smith should help in that department.

    A three-time Pro Bowl selection, the 32-year-old Smith has five sacks this year and 65 sacks in 132 games over 10 pro seasons.

    The Lions are in first place in the NFC North with a 7-1 record, but have struggled to generate pressure without Hutchinson, recording just five sacks in the three games without him after registering 15 in its first five games.

     

     

    Jets send wide receiver Williams to Steelers

    The New York Jets found a suitor for Mike Williams, shipping the wide receiver to the Steelers for a fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft.

    Williams, a two-time 1,000-yard receiver, was in his first season with the Jets (3-6) after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Chargers.

    He was never able to build any chemistry with Aaron Rodgers, however, and the 40-year-old quarterback called out Williams for running the wrong route on a play that Rodgers threw an interception late in a 23-20 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 6.

    At that point, it was clear New York was going to try to find a trade partner for the embattled wide out, especially after the Jets acquired Rodgers' old friend Davante Adams in a trade with the Las Vegas Raiders (2-7) last month.

    Williams, who has 321 career receptions for 4,972 yards and 31 touchdowns, now joins a Steelers team that has won three straight games and is atop the AFC North with a 6-2 record.

    Pittsburgh also acquired veteran pass rusher Preston Smith from the Green Bay Packers for a seventh-round draft pick.

     

     

    Rams trade cornerback White to Ravens

    The Los Angeles Rams dealt cornerback TreDavious White to the Baltimore Ravens (6-3) in exchange for a 2026 seventh-round draft pick and a seventh-rounder the following year.

    The Rams (4-4)  had given White permission to seek a trade in late October, and has been inactive in their last four games.

    The disgruntled cornerback was in his first season in Los Angeles after spending his first seven seasons with the Buffalo Bills.

    The 29-year-old is a two-time Pro Bowl selection, but has been limited to 14 games in the last three seasons due to various injuries.

    He should still be able to help a Baltimore defense that is last in the NFL against the pass, allowing an average of 280.9 passing yards per game.

     

    In moves on a smaller scale, the Cowboys (3-5) acquired wide receiver Jonathan Mingo from the Carolina Panthers (2-7), and the Cincinnati Bengals (4-5) picked up Khalil Herbert from the Chicago Bears (4-4) for depth at running back.

    One player who didn't change teams and was rumoured to be on the move was the Raiders star edge rusher Maxx Crosby.

    The Seattle Seahawks (4-5) also decided to keep wide receiver DK Metcalf , while the Panthers are sticking with No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young and the Indianapolis Colts (4-5) are keeping quarterback Anthony Richardson.

  • Cowboys owner Jones says quarterback Prescott will likely be placed on injured reserve Cowboys owner Jones says quarterback Prescott will likely be placed on injured reserve

    Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones implied that quarterback Dak Prescott will likely be placed on injured reserve, meaning he would miss a minimum of four games.

    The Cowboys announced Monday that Prescott would be side-lined with an injured hamstring, but a decision on if he would go on IR had not yet been made.

    Speaking on his weekly radio appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday, Jones indicated the injury was worse than initially feared.

    "It's likely we'll IR him," Jones said. "We'll see how his rehab goes."

     

    Prescott, who signed a record-breaking, $240million contract hours before this season's opener, suffered the injury late in the third quarter of Sunday's 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.

    He was replaced by Cooper Rush, and the seven-year backup will get the start this Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

    Rush completed 13-of-25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown against the Falcons, but couldn't rally Dallas all the way back.

    The Cowboys ended up losing their third straight game to drop to 3-5, which matches the total number of losses the team had each of the last three seasons.

    They now sit in third place in the NFC East, 3 1/2 games behind the division-leading Washington Commanders.

    Rush has found some success as a fill-in starter for the Cowboys, though, the 30-year-old hasn't been forced into the starting role since 2022.

    In six career starts for Dallas, he's gone 5-1 with 1,281 passing yards with seven touchdowns, four interceptions and an 83.6 rating.

  • Mahomes' 'scary' ankle injury 'not too bad' Mahomes' 'scary' ankle injury 'not too bad'

    Patrick Mahomes assured the ankle injury he sustained during the Kansas City Chiefs’ victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is “not too bad” despite hailing the incident as “scary”.

    The quarterback led the Chiefs to their 14th straight win with 34 of his 44 passes completed for 291 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

    The Bucs took them to overtime but the AFC West leaders prevailed to remain unbeaten following a 30-24 victory on Monday.

    Mahomes had hobbled off with assistance at one point during the game, leading to concern ahead of the Chiefs' next game against the Denver Broncos, but he has provided some reassurance.

    "[The injury was] definitely scary. I think it hurt more just because it's the same ankle I rolled last week, so it scared me a little bit,” he said.

    “But once I took my breath and calmed down a little bit, it ended up being not too bad. We were able to go in there at the reset and go back on the football team."

    It means it is likely Mahomes will return next week despite the reoccurrence of the injury on the same ankle, with head coach Andy Reid marvelling at the 29-year-old's resilience.

    "I wasn't sure exactly where he was going to be with it. He might have the loosest ankles in America. It's ridiculous how he can come back from those things,” he said.

    The victory also marked DeAndre Hopkins’ first home game as a Chief, as he finished with eight catches for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

    "[Hopkins] is so good at winning one-on-one, so to be able to have him down in the red zone, third-down situations - he does a good job of filling out and finding those windows. You give him a chance down the field and he makes a play,” Mahomes said.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.