Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
General manager Ryan Poles planned on a gradual rebuild when he took over the Bears in January 2022, preferring to take the long-term view of someone who would be running the team for a decade rather than looking for a quick burst of success that fizzled quickly.
That’s a responsible approach, though Poles might have underestimated everyone’s patience. The Bears have asked for it for decades, most recently in retaining Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy in 2021 when hardly anyone outside Halas Hall supported that, and it’s exhausting.