Winning deepens bonds, making difficult roster decisions even tougher for GM Poles. Favorite players and coaches face an uncertain future.
It's hard to keep your emotions out of football decisions, and Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles understands how tough that can be.
Winning only makes these kinds of decisions harder. The Bears had a historic season in 2025 and have some contract decisions to make on some of their most beloved players.
Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker are going to be tough to lose if Chicago isn't able to bring any of them back. Then, you also have a guy like Nahshon Wright, who had an incredible season with the Bears, but now that his market value has risen so much, it has priced him out of an extension with the franchise.
Then, there are the relationships you build with assistant coaches as well. The Bears lost offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and running backs coach Eric Bieniemy.
There will be some new faces on Ben Johnson's staff, as the Bears have hired Eric Studesville as running backs coach, promoted passing game coordinator Press Taylor to OC, and hired Will Lawing and Isaiah Ford in assistant roles.
It can be difficult to build camaraderie with these players and coaches, only to see them leave for other opportunities. Poles spoke about that aspect of being a GM at the NFL Combine.
A reporter asked him about someone like Brisker, who is well-liked, but raised his price point, making an extension difficult.
"It's really tough. And I know I've talked about those decisions in the past. I think what changes is when you win bonds and relationships get deeper, and knowing that right now we sit over the cap, like we got to make some decisions. If that's us, if that's trades, there are real relationships with people who gave it up for the Chicago Bears to advance our organization, and they may not be able to stay, and that sucks, to be honest with you, but it's what makes this league beautiful. It's why we're all here. It constantly gets shuffled up and moved around, and it's a challenge of putting together the best puzzle you can with different pieces. So, really difficult, but that's what we signed up for. You got to make those tough decisions, and they are business decisions. So, you kind of try to take your emotions out of it and do what's best for the organization."
It's only going to get harder for Poles and the fans.
Chicago's cap situation will force them to let go of some other beloved players. The Bears have already released Amen Ogbongbemiga, and they have also granted Tremaine Edmunds permission to seek a trade.
Even D'Andre Swift and D.J. Moore have been linked to trades throughout the offseason to free up cap space.
One of the more recent examples of this is the trade rumors surrounding Tyson Bagent. Both Poles and Johnson have talked about how much respect they have for Bagent. However, at the same time, deep down, they know that there are better situations he can go to that would allow him to start in this league.
This is one of the hardest things about becoming a GM in this league. You can't get too comfy with the players and coaches that you have, because things can change in an instant, and they will leave for other opportunities.
Poles knows this feeling well as the GM of the Bears.