Ryan Poles is not a fan of one aspect of the NFL’s Rooney Rule.
When Ryan Poles left the Kansas City Chiefs to become the Chicago Bears general manager in 2022, the Chiefs were rewarded two third-round compensatory picks because Poles is a minority and the NFL rewards teams that develop minority head coaches and general managers.
Poles finds that aspect of the Rooney Rule, “strange.”
“I’ll be honest, I think it is a little strange,” Poles said. “At the end of the day you should want to develop your staff regardless of the color of their skin. I think that’s important. I think we take a lot of pride with the Bears in how we have our setup. I take a lot of pride in that, so to be compensated for that is a little strange.”
“I saw the Chiefs get a pick because of me and then I watch that player go and play, it’s just a little odd,” Poles said. “But at the end of the day if they think that’s what’s best to help incentivize, that’s what they wanted to do.”
The rule is a topic of conversation with the Chicago Bears because Ian Cunningham left the Bears organization to become the Atlanta Falcons general manager but the Bears are not expected to receive the compensatory picks for Cunningham because Matt Ryan, not Cunningham, is not viewed as the Falcons’ primary football executive.
Poles said that while the rule doesn’t change the way he operates, he does wish the Bears would benefit from it as long as it’s in place.
“At the end of the day, that’s not the purpose of why we develop our staff, but if that’s the rule they have in place, then I think it’s very clear in this situation what should happen,” Poles said. “But we’ll see what they think.”
The rule continues to be a questionable one with a lot of grey area. Cunningham, who is a minority, has been named the general manager of the Falcons – the Bears should be rewarded by that. Not rewarding them based on the perception of the Falcons’ hierarchy in their football operations is, as Poles, describes, strange.
