Ryan Poles has executed a complete culture change in Chicago
While the wins have not come easily in this new era of Bears football there has been major progress in two areas, defense and perhaps more importantly, culture.
Almost two years ago Teven Jenkins stood up for Justin Fields after he took a nasty hit. Jermaine Ifedi was then seen scolding Jenkins for standing up for Fields. That is terrible for team morale. A team that doesn’t stand up for each other is apathetic. That is the last thing an NFL team should be. Ryan Poles has been working hard to change that, his efforts finally appear to be paying off.
In the Bears’ week 14 win over the Detroit Lions, the evolving culture was on full display. Towards the end of the first quarter, a small scuffle started on the Bears sideline. Darnell Mooney was running out of bounds when Alex Anzalone gave him a late push. Khalil Herbert, Larry Borom, Montez Sweat, and a handful of other Bears immediately jumped in to confront Anzalone. The clip can be seen in the tweet below:
Almost 2 years apart. Spot the difference. https://t.co/oseyjU05Cu pic.twitter.com/AIX2fu1a3L
— Brendan Sugrue (@BrendanSugrue) December 11, 2023
That is exactly what you want to see from a football team. The players standing up for each other, fighting for each other. That is what makes a team, when everyone plays as a unit, not an amalgamation of individuals.
This Bears team looks like they want to win. They don’t like losing, which is very different from the Matt Nagy era. That era was defined by clips like the Ifedi one, and the team just appearing to give up. Even when faced with challenging opponents this team still plays it’s hardest.
Ryan Poles has been working to shift the Bears culture since he arrived
Back in March on 2022, The Bears signed Lucas Patrick to play center. Ryan Poles explained that part of the reason behind the signing was the energy and fight Patrick brings to the team.
After Patrick signed with the Bears, Poles described him as a “glue guy in the locker room and on the field” who will “add leadership to our offensive line and raise the standard of how the Chicago Bears will play with grit, tenacity and finish.”
Ryan Poles went on to describe a moment he had with Patrick on the phone after the two agreed to contract details. That moment pointed to the reason why Poles pursued Patrick in the first place.
“The things he was screaming on the phone after we got a deal done kind of showed what he’s all about,” Poles said with a laugh. “He embodies that. He’s a prick, and he knows it, and that’s how he survives, and that’s what we need up front.”
More evidence for Poles Culture shift working is comments by players on the team. After the Bears beat the Lions, wide receiver DJ Moore stated the teams belief in themselves in an interview. The team is confident and that is a powerful thing.
Matt Eberflus was right when he commented on team culture
Back at the start of November the Bears were 2-2 and just experienced two in-season coach departures, one a resignation and one a firing. All that on top of the Chase Claypool drama, things were looking really bad.
After running back coach David Walker was fired, Matt Eberflus took questions during a press conference. One reporter asked him a question about the culture within the organization.
“The guys work hard every single day,” he said. “The relationship piece is there. We care about each other. We’re working diligently to get this thing turned. We’re 2-2 in our last four. One game was real close, we had a chance at that one. We really feel we’re turning the corner there, and we are excited about this week. But to answer your question, our culture is awesome.”
At the time his defense of the culture seemed ludicrous, all the things mentioned above were completely reasonable reasons to not believe him, but Eberflus was right about the culture.
The evidence was out on the field on Sunday vs the Lions. The Bears played hungry and fought for each other. The Bears won because of a complete team game. Building a culture is the first step in building a winning football team. You have to build a team people want to play for, that is what Ryan Poles has done and continues to do.
There have been hiccups like Chase Claypool and David Walker, but outside of those instances, Ryan Poles culture shift has worked.
The final stretch of the season could paint a clear picture of the Bears future
The Bears have won their last two games, both divisional matchups. With one of those wins over the 9 win division leading Lions. There are 4 games left in the 2023 NFL season for the Bears. The biggest challenge left on the scheduled comes next week as the Bears travel to Cleveland.
The Browns have an elite defense and will be a major challenge for the Bears offense. The silver lining here for the Bears is that injuries have piled up for the Browns. Cleveland is on their fourth QB this season, without star running back Nick Chubb and just lost rookie right tackle Dawand Jones to a season ending knee injury.
The Bears defense has the chance to pounce on a wounded Browns offense and secure a 4th straight win. After that the Bears have two winnable games against struggling Atlanta and Arizona teams. The final challenge of the season comes against Green Bay at Lambeau on January 7th.
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