Bears elicit little confidence they'll get this hire right

The Bears flubbed their last head coaching hire. But chairman George McCaskey is confident that general manager Ryan Poles can get this one right.

“You learn from your experiences,” McCaskey said Tuesday in the midway adjacent to the media interview room at Halas Hall. “Gaining wisdom, insight into processes. We’re very excited about the process Ryan has laid out.”

You sure about that? The Bears have been making mistakes in hiring coaches and general managers for years under McCaskey leadership and seem to have learned only how to keep making the same mistakes.

In 14 seasons since George McCaskey was promoted to chairman in 2011, the Bears have hired three general managers (Phil Emery, Ryan Pace and Poles) and four head coaches (Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy and Matt Eberflus) and don’t have much to show for it — certainly not wisdom and insight.

The Bears, in fact, are 94-134 (.412) in that span — the sixth-worst record in the NFL. They have just two playoff seasons (tied for 28th, only the Jets have fewer); two winning seasons (tied for 29th) and no playoff victories (tied for 28th).

So where is the evidence anyone has learned anything from the previous processes?

“Well, the idea is to get it right. Bears fans deserve a winner,” McCaskey said. “And we’re going to do everything we can. I think with Ryan’s leadership and the process that he has outlined, and with guidance from Kevin [Warren, the team president], Ryan is going to make the best decision.”

“Ryan’s leadership” — that sounded awfully familiar. And sure enough, it was. That was part of McCaskey’s faith in Ryan Pace that earned Pace a seventh season after going 42-54 (.438) with one winning season in his first six years.

“Ryan and Matt [Nagy] are men of character,” McCaskey said after Pace and Nagy were retained following an 8-8 season that ended with a playoff loss to the Saints. “They are both outstanding leaders. I’ve been most impressed with how well they collaborate, especially during the six-game losing streak. The fact that our players never gave up is a tribute to the players. It is also indicative of the type of players that Ryan acquires.”

And around and around she goes. Why will this time be any different?

"Well, Ryan has the benefit of his experience,” McCaskey said. “And he has the benefit of the guidance from Kevin, who has been through this process before. So we’re hoping for a better result.”

Hope is the best thing the Bears have going for them in their pursuit of a coach who can parlay Caleb Williams into sustained success. The Bears sure didn’t elicit much confidence that this process will be any more fruitful than the previous four since Lovie Smith was fired after the 2012 season.

Warren, who was hired as team president in 2023, is the most prominent difference in this search process. But every time he speaks publicly he sounds more like a senator than the guy who will change the way they do business at Halas Hall. In fact, he sounded like he already had been here too long Tuesday, when he celebrated the Week 18 upset of the Packers as a tone-setter, while ignoring the 10 losses prior that game that exposed some key foundational/culture issues the Bears need to address. It was at least on-brand.

“That would have been a very easy game for our players [to pack it in],” Warren said. “But to come together, and even the way the game went — to make our mind up after the turnover to say let’s rally together. I thought it was apropos to end the season in 2025 with a walk-off field goal. I think that helped set the tone.”

Finding success in failure is a tack that thrives at Halas Hall, because it provides hope. The Bears can still get this one right, but success hinges more on the fickle finger of fate than their grand plan. Because the way the Bears go about hiring anyone, every process is a roll of the dice.