Cubs News: Poles on firing Eberflus, promoting Brown to interim head coach |
CHICAGO - General manager Ryan Poles has a bit of egg on his face with how this season has gone. While the hiring of Matt Eberflus was not his decision, as Eberflus joined the staff two days after Poles, Poles was involved in hiring offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, who was a complete disaster.
Eberflus was a disaster, too, as Chicago’s Thanksgiving loss against the Detroit Lions showcased. “I want to thank Coach Eberflus for his efforts and his dedications while he was here, but at the end of the day we just came up short too many times. We had to make a change,” Poles said. “As I reflect back two years ago, I was proud of the progress that we made from year one to year two, but disappointed we weren’t able to stay on that track in year three.” So far, Poles’ term as general manager has been a mixed bag. His first major trade was trading linebacker Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers; Mack has been a Pro-Bowler every year since and had 17 sacks in 2023. Linebacker Roquan Smith was traded to the Baltimore Ravens after Smith and the Bears could not agree on his contract. He was an All-Pro last season and finished No. 8 in Defensive Player of the Year voting, just three voting points ahead of Mack. The trade for Chase Claypool was a complete bust and resulted in a wasted No. 32 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. The highlight of his career has to be when Chicago traded the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft in exchange for wide receiver DJ Moore and a slew of draft picks that ultimately resulted in getting players such as quarterback Caleb Williams, offensive lineman Darnell Wright and punter Tory Taylor. Williams is still in his rookie season and already has his second head coach. However, Poles is confident in interim head coach Thomas Brown’s ability to lead the team as he successfully improved the offense in his three weeks as interim offensive coordinator. “In terms of Thomas Brown, I was excited for him. We love direct leadership, his command, and his confidence,” Poles said. “I believe he has the traits not only to lead our team, but as well as our offense.” Part of the reason Chicago traded the No. 1 overall pick back in 2023 was that Chicago thought Justin Fields may still be their quarterback of the future. When they decided he was not and drafted Williams No. 1 overall in 2024, the goal was to have a support system around him with adequate players and coaching to develop him so he could become an elite quarterback. That plan has failed miserably. In addition to being on his second head coach already, Williams is also on his third offensive coordinator as wide receivers coach Chris Beatty has been named the interim offensive coordinator since Brown is now the head coach. This has to be the definition of adversity for a rookie quarterback. Still, Poles seems confident that Williams will be able to handle this situation, although he maintains that Williams’ development is crucial. “I think we’ve seen his growth through some of the situations we’ve had so far. We always got to keep that in mind,” Poles said. “His development is critical. So, we need to make sure that there’s alignment in that space so he can continue to get better.”
