# Ryan Poles

Ryan Poles (born September 20, 1985) is an American professional football executive and former offensive lineman who is the general manager of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Poles previously served as the executive director of player personnel for the Kansas City Chiefs and had served in various executive roles with the Chiefs for 13 seasons.

## Early life

A native of Canandaigua, New York, Poles attended Canandaigua Academy before playing college football at Boston College as an offensive lineman from 2003 to 2007. Poles signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears in 2008, but he did not make it on the 53-man roster and was cut.

## Executive career
### Boston College

In 2008, following the end of his playing career, Poles returned to his alma mater Boston College as a graduate assistant and was involved in recruiting.

### Kansas City Chiefs

In 2009, Poles was hired by the Kansas City Chiefs as a scouting assistant under general manager Scott Pioli. In 2010, he was promoted to college scouting coordinator. In 2013, Poles was retained under new general manager John Dorsey.
In 2016, Poles was promoted to director of college scouting. Poles was retained and promoted to assistant director of player personnel in 2018 under new general manager Brett Veach.
On June 9, 2021, Poles was promoted to executive director of player personnel.

### Chicago Bears

On January 25, 2022, Poles was named the general manager of the Chicago Bears, replacing Ryan Pace. He hired Matt Eberflus as the team's head coach on January 27. Poles' first significant move with the Bears was trading Pro Bowl linebacker Khalil Mack and his salary cap hit to the Los Angeles Chargers for a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL draft and a sixth-round pick in 2023.
At the 2022 trade deadline, Poles traded linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens for A. J. Klein, along with second and fifth-round picks in the 2023 NFL draft. Smith and the Bears were unable to negotiate a long-term contract extension prior to the trade. Poles also traded the Bears' own 2023 second round pick (ultimately pick 32) to the Pittsburgh Steelers for wide receiver Chase Claypool. The Bears traded Claypool and a seventh-round pick to Miami for a 2025 sixth-round pick less than a year later. The Bears finished the 2022 season with a league-worst (3–14) record and secured the first overall pick in 2023 NFL draft.
On March 10, 2023, Poles traded the first overall pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for their 9th and 61st overall picks in the 2023 NFL draft, a 1st-round pick in 2024, a 2nd-round pick in 2025, and wide receiver D. J. Moore. The Bears would then trade down one slot, and eventually select tackle Darnell Wright with the 10th overall pick in 2023. Wright would eventually be named to the PFWA All-Rookie team. The Panthers finished the following 2023 NFL season with the worst NFL record, giving the Bears the first overall pick again (via Carolina) in the 2024 NFL Draft, to go along with their own 9th overall pick. Poles used the draft capital to refresh the team's roster, drafting Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in 2024, standout wide receiver Rome Odunze with the 9th overall pick, while also trading for Pro-Bowl wide receiver Keenan Allen.
Despite the influx of talent added to the roster, the Bears finished the 2024 season with a 5-12 record, a massive disappointment according to many sources. The season was underscored by the firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron just nine games into his tenure. Two weeks later, Matt Eberflus was fired after the 2024 Thanksgiving Day game at the Detroit Lions, where Eberflus was widely criticized for not calling a timeout in the dying moments of the team's 23-20 loss. Thomas Brown served as interim head coach for the final five games, finishing 1-4, with a win over the Green Bay Packers in the final game of the season snapping the Bears' 10-game losing streak. Poles and the Bears' brass eventually hired Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to serve as Eberflus' successor.

## Personal life

Poles is married to his wife, Katie, and they have two children together. Poles graduated from Boston College with a degree in communications in 2007.