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[Shah] @CourtneyRCronin saying that the final decision on hiring Flus was ultimately made by McCaskey and Phillips and not Ryan Poles like we were all told 😳👀

  • January 3, 2024


[Shah] @CourtneyRCronin saying that the final decision on hiring Flus was ultimately made by McCaskey and Phillips and not Ryan Poles like we were all told 😳👀

20 comments

  4. IF this is true, I think you gotta fire Flus. New coach should have input on what to do at QB.

  5. If this is the case what would be different about the next coaching hire? What if Phillips and McCaskey see a coach they really like — is Poles gonna do what they want like he did before, or put his foot down and make his own hire?

  6. [She posted a clarifying tweet](https://twitter.com/CourtneyRCronin/status/1742379238848684350?t=2UNNCgJy-LufqRejdbnRJQ&s=19)

    > Never said that. Listen to the whole podcast more than just that clip. The timing of both interviews, who was a part of the committee for HC/GM interviews, the well known connection in representation for both, etc. Pat and I were talking about the prospect that Eberflus will be back in 2024 and if that pans out (as NFLN reported Saturday), how that’s a decision Poles has the juice on whereas the initial hire was positioned from a committee approach where the final say leaned more heavily George/Ted. Obviously Poles was a part of that but the circumstances initially were different than they are now. That’s what my point was.

  7. So why hire Kevin Warren then? Just to build a stadium? You obviously don’t need him to evaluate Poles and the FB operation if ownership makes decisions for the football operation.

  9. There have been two conflicting narratives on this since day one, with different Bears beat reporters claiming one or the other are the absolute truth. It’s hard to know which to believe. But I know for a fact that Eberflus and Poles had a pre-existing relationship, and both have the same agent, and Poles has always said publicly that the decision was his. So I see no reason to disbelieve that.

    Edit: and I see she’s already clarified her comments. We already knew there was a committee that identified candidates. We already knew Flus was one of them. According to Poles, he chose Flus from the guys that had already been identified, and the other two signed off on it. That’s entirely compatible with how Cronin is framing it in her update. This is nothing.

  10. Not sure about this, but wouldn’t surprise me. The three finalists had their interviews scheduled before Poles was even hired.

  13. The fact we still don’t know what happened with our DC tells me no one knows what’s going on at Halas Hall, and a lot of reporters are just making stuff up.

  14. They were in the middle of hiring Flus right before Poles got the job. My first thought was how are they hiring a Head Coach before the GM. Then I realized it was the Bears and thats what they do.

  17. Wait, people really thought Poles just came in and was immediately just ready to hire a coach in what, a day?

  18. I had a hunch Poles was hired BECAUSE Flus was his guy. That Flus was who McCaskey wanted, but he still aligned with Poles.

    Now I’m wondering if Flus WASNT who Poles wanted, who was?

  19. Poles and Flus were pitched to George/Ted as a package deal by Trace Armstrong, their agent. You could argue that this qualifies as an arranged marriage but I don’t think it does. What agent would do that to their clients?

  20. I thought they gave Poles the option to pick one head coach out of three candidates. Not really giving him full autonomy but he did make the final decision.

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