POLES IRKED BY RG3’S QB REMARKS
GM disputes thought Williams would be better off elsewhere
ORLANDO, Fla. — Bears general manager Ryan Poles isn’t easily rattled.
‘‘He exudes calm,’’ chairman George McCaskey said.
Still, Poles couldn’t help but be annoyed when he was asked Tuesday on ‘‘The Pat McAfee Show’’ at the NFL’s annual meetings about comments made by former quarterback Robert Griffin III last week.
Griffin wrote on social media that USC quarterback Caleb Williams ‘‘should pull an Eli Manning’’ and demand a trade rather than let the Bears take him No. 1 overall. Griffin was upset about the Bears trading Justin Fields for a conditional sixth-round draft pick and said Williams should realize the organization wouldn’t get him where he wanted to go. On Tuesday, Poles fired back. ‘‘It pisses me off a little bit, to be honest with you, because we were hired to break a cycle,’’ Poles said. ‘‘The same thing when I was in Kansas City . . . and we did, and no one talks about those days anymore. It’s all about what they are right now.
‘‘I really believe we’re about to break this cycle and get this city in a really good situation and win a lot of games. The past is the past. I don’t worry about that at all. It’s about where we’re going.’’
Where they’re going is toward Williams. Coach Matt Eberflus and Poles were among nine Bears officials at Williams’ pro day last week in Los Angeles. For 80 minutes or so March 19, Eberflus sat alone with Williams inside USC’s football offices.
‘‘Just really hearing his journey, his journey from being a little guy,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘What I gleaned from that is how his mother and father love him very much. Very supportive. You could see his character, his football character there, his football knowledge as I talk through that. It was a really good visit.’’
It might be the basis for a long-term relationship. The Bears were as impressed by Williams’ throwing session as they were by their conversations with him on campus and over dinner.
‘‘The biggest takeaway is that you can see the arm talent on the film and you can see it there in person,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘What I loved to see was the interaction with the other players. You can see that, and we talked to every person that was on that team [at the Senior Bowl and pro day]. . . . We talked to those guys at the dinner, and you can certainly see those players love him and respect him and what he’s brought to that program.’’
Eberflus spoke glowingly about Williams in his first public comments since meeting him at the NFL Scouting Combine. The Bears brought their brain trust, including McCaskey and president/CEO Kevin Warren, to the 18-minute meeting in Indianapolis.
‘‘The thing that is most important for me on any of our players, but especially on potentially top draft picks, is: ‘Do you love football? And where’s your heart? Are you passionate? Do you want to be a champion? Are you willing to do things the right way?’ ’’ Warren said.
McCaskey asked few questions during the meeting.
‘‘It was at 10:40 at night, and he was remarkably gregarious, engaged and friendly,’’ McCaskey said. ‘‘When they got down to football, he was right in it.’’
McCaskey will be part of Williams’ visit next week to Halas Hall, but he said his role will be determined by Poles. He disputed the notion the Bears didn’t give enough support to Fields — whom he said ‘‘gave everything he had to the Bears, to the city’’ — but stressed the importance of building the right structure around their next quarterback.
‘‘We need to make sure ... whoever it is and whatever position it is that we have the right structures in place and the right people in place to give them the best chance to succeed,’’ McCaskey said.