The Chicago Bears hired Ryan Poles to fill their vacant general manager position on Tuesday, and the Minnesota Vikings reportedly settled on their next GM, too.
The Vikings are set to sign Cleveland Browns executive Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, according to multiple media reports.
Poles also was a finalist for the open GM jobs in Minnesota and with the New York Giants, who last week hired Joe Schoen for the role.
The Bears interviewed Poles on Friday. The 36-year-old spent the past 13 seasons in a variety of roles with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was promoted to executive director of player personnel in advance of the 2021 season after three years as the assistant director.
In Poles’ one season as Kansas City’s director of college scouting (2017), the Chiefs selected quarterback Patrick Mahomes after trading up to No. 10 in the draft.
The Bears interviewed a number of candidates for the position, including Schoen and former NFL general managers Jeff Ireland, Eliot Wolf and Reggie McKenzie.
“I am extremely grateful to George, the McCaskey family and the rest of the Bears organization for this opportunity,” Poles said in a statement. “The Chicago Bears are one of the flagship franchises in the National Football League and are recognized as one of the most prestigious clubs in all of sports. It’s an honor for me to join such a well-regarded organization. Together with my family, I’m looking forward to hitting the ground running to help get this organization, its fanbase and the city what they deserve: a winning team and a Super Bowl trophy.”
Adofo-Mensah, 40, interviewed with the Vikings on Jan. 17. He spent the past two seasons as the vice president of football operations for the Browns.
Adofo-Mensah got his first job in an NFL front office in 2013 when the San Francisco 49ers named the business executive as their manager of football research and development.
He previously worked as an associate portfolio manager at Taylor Woods Capital and as vice president/executive director at Credit Suisse as a commodities trader. He holds a master’s degree in economics from Stanford and a bachelor’s degree from Princeton.
The new general managers will dive into ongoing searches for head coaches with both teams. The Bears are seeking a replacement for Matt Nagy and the Vikings for Mike Zimmer, and both franchises have interviewed several candidates.
In Chicago, Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus has interviewed twice, and the Bears reportedly have requested second interviews with former NFL head coaches Dan Quinn and Jim Caldwell.
The Vikings have interviewed eight candidates — Quinn, former NFL head coaches Todd Bowles and Raheem Morris and five up-and-coming coordinators, the most recent of them defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans of the San Francisco 49ers.
–Field Level Media
