The Chicago Bears general manager shared a brief moment of eye contact and a laugh with his first-year coach. There was probably more behind that laugh than either cared to share publicly. A lot of what happens behind closed doors in an NFL front office never escapes the building.
He’s been a pleasure to work with,” Poles said. “I’m grateful for that and our relationship as we continue to build that through this journey. Yeah, it’s been smooth. It feels natural.
The Bears drafted Michigan tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 pick, then selected Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden III at No. 39 a day later. In all, the Bears added eight players to the roster.
Ever since Johnson and Poles first spent time together over a Zoom interview in January, they have envisioned what this pairing would look like.
One of the first things Johnson said in that interview was this: “I want to be here.”
What followed has been a three-month crash course in getting to know each other. They didn’t need long to determine they were a good fit. Johnson never even interviewed in person before taking the job.
“There was just a vibe to it that was awesome,” Poles said of their initial interview.
When Johnson was thinking about head coaching jobs, he wasn’t looking for full control over player personnel or to bring in a GM who would be seen as his guy.
NFL teams spend a calendar year preparing for each draft. The Bears have 12 college scouts who crisscross the country during college football season.
Throwing a new coach into the mix in January can cause an abrupt shake-up in the types of players a team looks for. Johnson will have different preferences than predecessor Matt Eberflus. So will his assistant coaches.
“One of the best things we did was, when they first got here, we had (defensive coordinator Dennis Allen) and the whole defensive coaching staff come into the draft room and they met with all of our staff and our personnel people and told us what they were looking for at each position,” assistant GM Ian Cunningham said.
They did the same thing with first-year offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. Johnson spent extensive time with the scouting department. Those sessions were invaluable.
“It paints a picture for us so we can go out and get the perfect player for us,” Cunningham said.
Johnson spent seven years as a Miami Dolphins assistant coach from 2012-18. During that time, the Dolphins made only one playoff appearance. He saw head coaches Joe Philbin and Adam Gase lose their jobs. After moving to Detroit in 2019, he watched the Lions fire coach Matt Patricia during the 2020 season.
“In the past, when I’ve seen it not work, there’s been dysfunction, there’s been an element of disconnect between the GM, the head coach, other executives,” Johnson said on the day he was introduced at Halas Hall.
In choosing the Bears as his preferred landing spot, Johnson was willing to believe he and Poles can see the game through the same lens.