Chicago Bears hire Ryan Poles from Kansas City Chiefs as new GM

CHICAGO (WLS) — The Chicago Bears have hired Ryan Poles to be their new general manager, the team said on Twitter Tuesday.

The team was finalizing the deal earlier Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Poles, 36, currently serves as executive director of player personnel for the Kansas City Chiefs.

He replaces Ryan Pace, who was fired along with head coach Matt Nagy after the Bears went 6-11 and missed the playoffs.

After the firing of Pace and Nagy, Bears chairman George McCaskey formed a search committee to evaluate candidates for both GM and head coach.

Poles has spent 13 years in the front office of the Chiefs, rising from player personnel assistant in 2009 to becoming an executive director of player personnel . ESPN reports Poles was also a finalist for the Vikings’ vacant GM position.

The Bears are also continuing to evaluate potential head coaches, with former Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell being interviewed a second time by the team Tuesday. Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has also received a second interview from the Bears, ESPN reports.

Poles is the first African-American to hold the GM position in the team’s 101-year history.