Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - It sounds like Ryan Poles is open for business when to comes to DJ Moore (Hour 3)

Episode Date: February 24, 2026

In the third hour, Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote listened and reacted to the highlights of Bears head coach Ben Johnson’s press conference at the NFL Combine on Tuesday. After that, they explained how the Bears seem open to the possibility of trading receiver DJ Moore.

This hour is brought to you by the Chicago Golf Show. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, The Score. We normally do five on it at this time, but there is so much going on at the NFL Combine. So we are bringing it all to you. To recap, we are making our way through Ben Johnson's comments, where he was asked of considering trading Tyson Bayesian as an option. We got to that at about 1130 and it broke our show because of the way he said no and how much he loved him. So thank you for bearing with us, pun intended. TTN. Thank you. Bears, TTN.

All right, so we're all in agreement on Rahimi Harrison Grotie. Let's get back to it. He was asked about the loss of his running backs coach Eric B. Enemy to become Kansas City's offensive coordinator. Oh, we'll miss a ton. The guy's a phenomenal football coach. And, you know, that coaching staff a year ago and really similar. to this year is there are a lot of guys outside of my circle that I didn't know very well. So he was really through reputation. We had a lot of productive conversations before he decided to join on board. Then I was just blown away from the impact he had, not only in that position room,

which Swift had probably the best year of his career, and then seventh rounder. Menangai had a hell of a year himself, not just that room, but the entire offense. He brings a demanding presence. The standard is the standard with Eric Bienemy. And, you know, those are big shoes to fill. Fortunately, I do feel strongly about Eric Studsville from Miami, a guy that I worked with before. He's been around the block a few times.

He's been a part of really good rushing offenses in his past. And I know he's going to bring a great flavor for us. That is a glowing recommendation from Ben Johnson when it came to not only Eric Bied to me leaving, but just letting us into the process of what happened because his hiring here was notable. And it makes sense the way he talks about Eric Studeville because of their time together in Miami

and understanding that it's a continuation of, let's be honest, guys, one of the more surprising stories of 2025 was the running backs in their production. You could have said, hey, D'Andre Swift might have a decent season. You probably didn't expect him to have maybe the best year of his season.

career. And then Calmanungi for him to bust onto the scene in the manner in which he did with multiple 100-yard rushing games. In fact, games where both of them rushed for 100 yards, that tells you they built what Ben Johnson felt like was fundamentally important to him having a top-flight offense, which is a rushing game. I remember the bye week this year ahead of the Washington game. And there you had Ben Johnson telling the world that, yeah, we got the right guys in here. The production was not good early on. But I think they also knew they had the right guy to coach them. And that was Eric Bienemy.

The hope is that, all right, you have soaked in, you have taken in everything you could possibly take in from Eric Bionemy. The running backs goes to get you on this path. Hopefully the baton goes to Studeville, who looks like he is extremely capable, veteran, been all over the place. So I'm ultimately not worried, but that doesn't mean I can't praise what Eric Biontby did. You know what I really like about the Bears position coaches that we had this past season? you know a lot about the details of what they did on the job.

Like, for example, how many times did one of the secondary members say to us? Al Harris says, I need more turnovers. I'm still hungry. They would tell you what he would say to them in practice. I feel the same way about Eric B. Enemy, for example, you knew that he was a guy who would say, I need you to run between the tackles. Like, he put it out there, you know, when he talked in the offseason on the Bears, et cetera, podcast, I believe it was, where last, this time last,

year. He talked about what he wanted DeAndre Swift to do, what he wanted the bears running backs to do. He didn't back away. He was unapologetic. When you have that understanding as a layman of what the position coaches want out of their players, it lets you know how good the coaching is. I want to say with Ben Johnson, the consistency from day one. And now I'm looking at it into year two, about his message to us, but also his message through us to his own team and his coaching staff. And it feels like there's a level of consistency that maybe we had been lacking in coaches past. Is that a fair statement to make? That would be very fair.

An understatement to make. I haven't heard any of that. But here's the thing, guys. It was bad. And maybe we knew it was bad, but maybe we didn't realize how far. that bad was compared to what it takes to actually win. And now we have a fair sample of the just range, the gap, a sizable canyon of a gap that Ben Johnson has been able to fill with his ideas, his messaging, most importantly,

his execution and just getting the freaking job done. We didn't know what it sounded like previously. Like, what does a hearing from a good head coach really sound like every single day? And while we've had that in spurts through the years where a coach will locate, like, Managie sounded pretty good when he talked in 2018, 2018, yeah, things kind of made sense. And then all of a sudden, 2019 and 2020, he starts saying things that don't make as much sense, or maybe things that you let go, like with Ben Johnson. and I know he just had a winning season

so you could say the same thing that everything sounds good, but we know that there is substance to the things that he says that to your point, Marshall, we hadn't heard previously. And also guess what a good coach does? He hires other good coaches. And Matt Nagy, at this point already after his first season with the Bears, there was a big turnover in assistant coaches. Do you remember that?

And how that changed. And there's a lot of people who said Matt Nagy brought in a lot of yes men. you know, and you need that contradiction on a coaching staff. You need that friction because those guys are looking out for your blind spots. And if everybody agrees, that makes it hard because you know what the other team is doing, they're trying to find your weaknesses. They're going to be your no men. And you'd rather have them on your own staff and your own building.

Do you say your no men? That's the opposite. Really, that's what that was. I can't get over it. Is that what it was? Leila, here's my question, though. Remember last year when we were talking? about the fact that...

He sits in VIP! To your point about the yes-men, Mark and Leila. Yes, yes, Marshall. No! No, the yes-men... No! He hired people he wasn't necessarily familiar with and hadn't worked with firsthand. But now, much in the vein of what you're describing,

he is hiring people that he is very, very familiar with. That sounded real good to say last year, didn't it? Maybe when he didn't have the power, when he had the power to hire everybody. It gives me just a... Not a big pause. That's a good point, man. But a tiny bit of pause to make sure we keep monitoring the situation. I mean, we will.

But specifically on that coaching staff front of, does he have guys who will push back? Eric Bienem, he's going to push back. That's it. But Stoodsville, they've worked together before. Ben Johnson's in charge. I don't know his personality yet. So.

Yeah. And I learned B'ememones fast. We keep wanting to call him Studsville. Yeah. Right. Shout out Stutz. And then Press Taylor gets elevated. And you just kind of wonder in the grand scheme of things,

is there going to be enough feedback and maybe calling in the question the plan, whether that's on an everyday basis, a front office basis? I'm curious as to if those discussions will differ in a big way from this time last year. I have a question for you. I love questions. How much do you think Dennis Allen's experience as a head coach and how much just he's scouting that offense every day? How much of a back and forth do you think is happening at that level where you're getting, is it enough for you or do you want it at more levels of the coaching staff?

Well, let me just say this. I think the feedback he gets from Dennis Allen is invaluable because he has been a head coach. And he's had, I wouldn't say success success, but he's had teams that weren't bad, right? They were just mediocre. And so he probably knows the difference in kind of the pitfalls through his own experience of, I can warn you about this and let's make sure we do this. And I'm not saying Ben Johnson can't do that on his own, but it's always good to have other people who have been in that role around you,

giving you maybe solid advice feedback. And let's be honest, he's a great defensive coordinator. So they talk to each other. We heard them talk about this during the regular season last year, where Ben Johnson goes in and tries to understand why Dennis Allen's scheming a certain way and what offense he would do against. Like, that's a true meeting of the minds right there with Dennis Allen and Ben Johnson. And the bigger question to take your question and volley it back is,

is Ben Johnson going to have the open ear? And if there's a big discussion about what we're doing position-wise in this draft, or even through free agency, although that's a lot of money that they got in that defensive line, is Dennis Allen finally going to get his due? Felt like Dennis Allen got the short end of the stick last year when it came to acquisitions. They built the offensive line.

They got the offensive weapon. What about Dio Dengbo? They spent so much money, though, after D.A. got here. What about DiO Dio Dengbo? But Dio Dengbo, is it Dennis Allen prototypical? Like when Ryan Poles is talking about learning who the traits are, you know, didn't he embody the traits? Yeah, well, and he also is a guy they spent money on.

So I don't know for a fact that Dennis Allen, like, gave a push or wanted that player. And they also did use one of their three second round picks last year to take a defensive lineman, whose season was stunted, talking about Schmar Turner. so it's not like they didn't do anything for this guy or for the defensive side of the football. Three of the top four picks were on the offensive side. And that's three of top four picks that weren't like first, second, third, fourth round. It was, we've got a bunch of second rounders and a first rounder,

and three of those picks went to offense. Dennis Allen's guy would be like, got to give me something. You got to give me something. Well, I think he's going to get, I mean, I'd be very, like we talked about at the beginning of the show. And for people who didn't hear, we did play Ryan Poles earlier. And he gave us the old. in the draft, and I think he was talking about the first pick, which is number 25 overall,

best player available right there. But come on, defense has got to be. You can't have 12 receivers in a position room. You just can't. And that's one of the only places where they would have, they don't have to worry about a rookie contract at the 25th pick. So there you have it. You would have somebody that you can get without going outside.

of the organization, without having to waive somebody, without having to restructure a contract. There's a freebie for you right there. So it would be crazy, I think, at this point, unless there's something that I don't know that happens in free agency. And that's a great point. Now, Ben Johnson was also asked, let's keep the assistant coaches going. Ben Johnson was also asked about his confidence level with Press Taylor taking over as the offensive coordinator.

Last year was pretty much an audition, as far as I'm concerned. I was blown away with what he was able to do in the building day in and day out. things that maybe not everyone else could see. He's very thoughtful, very detail-oriented for what we were looking for from that role. He really fits the bill perfectly. Ben Johnson's got an offensive coordinator factory going on at this point. He's got his first guy in, first guy out, Declan Doyle. Now, Press Taylor, you're going to get your shot.

And if it goes like it went last year, Press Taylor will be calling play somewhere next year, either as an offensive coordinator or maybe even a head coach, depending on how well it goes. and then it'll be insert the next guy. And you can see how this is going to go, which is also more evidence. If you're going to be hiring an NFL head coach, sorry Anthony Heron, I want my guy to be offensive-minded. I do.

I do. Well, and when he says audition, like he knew. He knew what the plan was. Think about how confident he was in Declan Doyle, perhaps anybody else was in the league and even us, you know? And we liked Declan Doyle when we heard him talk. But for him to already know at that point that the potential was there for him to get a job after his first year under Ben Johnson?

Like, Mark, I think that takes a pretty big step. Oh, yeah. And, I mean, and Press Taylor, too, like one of the, there, there is a lot of, quote, unquote, grunt work that goes with that job and the extra work that you're going to have to do and to think like Ben Johnson, to some degree, think like Caleb Williams, you already have the step up because Press Taylor has been around it. So I'm just happy in this case, like, there's value in what we were talking about earlier, outside of the organization and getting a different voice. In this case, this was poised perfectly to be a hire from within.

Well, now we need to know who's auditioning next, right? Like, who's your guy waiting in the weeks? Who's your guy? I didn't think it was time to bring it back. Who's your guy? Also, since we're in the same vein of thought, Ben Johnson was also asked about working with Dennis Allen to rebuild the defense. With Dennis Allen, how much of the challenge you see?

to retool this defense aside the ball. How many of the boys are you about specific players, you know, and trying to effort their choices? Yeah, well, I think we feel a lot better about having the health of our secondary be a lot better to this go around. You know, last year between Kyler and Jalen, we didn't feel like we were at full strength there on the back end for majority of the season. I do think that's going to help out.

I think there's ways that we can generate more pass rush up front. That'll help out. significantly as well. But certainly it's something we're looking at. How do we upgrade the personnel in certain spots? There's a number of guys that are up contract-wise, and so there will be a retooling there to a degree. But I know DA is looking forward to the opportunity to get his hands on these guys one more time

and see what that looks like. I know one way they can generate more ways to get their pass rush going. Go out and get a dominant pass rusher. That's my number one way, by the way. I'm just saying because I didn't like Here's why I didn't like that answer That answer was about the reality

That hey we expect those hurt guys To come back and be better Next year and that's how we're going to be a better Defend that's not going to be enough To be a good enough defense To compete with the likes of what we saw Whether you're talking about the Seattle Seahawks We know what the Eagles are capable of

There's a number of teams Who have more dominant defenses And it can't just be on the takeaways Because that can ebb and flow year to year Well also do we know that The Dio Dingo's coming back back to start the season, for example. It's an Achilles, his second, by the way.

And do we know that T.J. Edwards, like, what's the timeline on that return? Wouldn't you consider it's a broken leg at the very last game of the year? I will say, like, it does make sense, though, what he's saying. You can't depend on this is that your only plan for the offseason, but he's right. I mean, you essentially, you didn't have Kyler Gordon and Jalen Johnson last year in the secondary. And while there are many holes to fill, that is true. Those are maybe your two best defensive players. So how can you not take that seriously, Marshall?

I mean, like... Because Nashan Wright ain't walking through that tunnel. No, there's still holes, but to dismiss the idea that you have your two best defensive players coming back. I think that was a good point made by Ben Johnson. Yeah, there has to be more. I don't know what... Man, why do they feel about Tyreek Stevenson? I think we kind, like it...

He's under contract, right? He is under contract, but did they want anything to do with him being a starter? I get the feeling they don't in a best case scenario at this point. But think about how he was used during the playoff game. Remember when everybody was asking, where's Tyreek Stevenson? Where is he? Why is it taking so long to get him on the field? And then the impact that he had during that game once he was?

Were they saying the same thing about Collar Gordon, though? as far as... That was more of a health, like, minutes restriction type of scenario. Tyreek Stevenson wasn't. Tyreek Stevenson was, did something else happen that we don't know? I thought it was more about... We only have so many slots. There was, but why was he the odd man out?

Oh, you're saying because Kyla returned. Right. But even then, though... No, it was a mystery because I talked to Tyreek Stevenson during that. You know, he was just doing what he was told. And, of course, it wasn't paraphrasing him. The good team answer. Oh, no, he was great all season in terms of...

of the words that he used and didn't do anything dumb on the field and all. Remember it? And it had some really, really nice moments, but then some bad moments as well, ultimately making me wonder what they think of him. And I don't know that they think of him. And Terrell Smith, another guy, too, that should be thrown into the batch of potential starters at cornerback for the Bears. And he will be healthy, which is huge.

Yes. So that's just some of the conversation. I think we got through all of the Ben Johnson Press conference. I'm not sorry that it took us so long because that no will live in my head rent-free for the rest of my life. In the meantime, there's a lot of quotes coming out from the combine about the side sessions, the side interview sessions that went on. Chris Emma has a banger from Ryan Poles. He asked him about DJ Moore and the answer is something you'll want to hear.

So you either hear it or we will let you know the latest and we will discuss it next. Rahimi Harris and Grody Bears tight end Cole Kamet. Cole, welcome to the party, pal. Well, thanks for having me. I heard it was a big day. So naturally, I dropped everything I had going on today. You've complained a lot through the years about not being able to hear the score on the 670 AM dial when you're inevitably cruising around downtown. And now that we have an FM signal, Cole, you can now hear the score all day, all the time,

all you want. You can hear all the Bears hot takes you want. Well, that's perfect. I'll make sure I blast that in the locker room. Rahimi Harrison Grody, Midday's Tyndal 2 on 1043 The Score. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043 The Score. You know, there's a metaphor about being chosen in this song that may or may not apply, because when we talk about the combine, there's a little bit of that process going on.

Then there's also the business of what happens to people who are on your team. And I feel like that is very much the discussion going on in Indianapolis. We heard from Ben Johnson. We heard from Ryan Poles. And then they also had side sessions with reporters talking to them additionally about some of the non-podium questions that everybody wanted to know. I love a little sidepiece. Let's ride. Lunch is over.

Time for a little sidepiece. The fun on the Rahimi Harris Grosy show today is on a high level. So this is big. Bears General Manager Ryan Poles in one of those side sessions at the Combine today was asked whether the Bears would entertain moving DJ Moore and his contract. Listen in. I got to have conversations and kind of see what, like I said, the best combination of players we can bring in. We want him here.

We think highly of him. He's a great teammate. He's been productive pretty consistently over the last couple of years that he's been here. So I have nothing but great things to say about him. But this is the time now where we have to look at all the different scenarios and see what can allow us and put the best team out there. And I've talked about this before. It's just, you know, there's relationships there.

There's a lot there that make it really, really difficult. But he's a guy we want here, but we have to look at all different scenarios. That may be the most pointed statement Ryan Poles has made to date on DJ Moore. We did not hear as detailed of a statement from Ben Johnson, but Polls also, I feel like, just expanded on kind of where he left off in that season-ending press conference when he did say we have decisions to make there. Mark, I see you nodding. I know you're remembering it as well, but this even sounds less committed than that. And Poles isn't hiding anything in this either. Yep, yep. This was the early part of the end of the season press conference where he said was similarly vague.

He talked, the only difference was the last time he talked about how this guy is tough as nails and everybody looks up to him and all that. But there are realities in the NFL. So you're right. Ben Johnson did not say it as loudly, I guess, would be a way to put it right there. But I would also say, and we talked about Ben Johnson earlier, Ben Johnson, as I said, certainly did not rule anything out either as it pertains to DJ Moore. How would you describe a player that you want to maintain trade value and or possibly bring back into the fold of your own organization? That way? Exactly.

That's my point here. Poles is threading that needle pretty well on that question. I definitely understand what you're saying about. He sounded more like it was a possibility for him to be moved. But at the same time, saying, yo, we know what DJ Moore is. There's a reason I gave him all the money. I mean, that wasn't that long ago. So I am interested to see how this plays out.

I'm interested to see the abacus is out at House Hall. I'm interested to see how they navigate by prioritizing what's the most important, by figuring out what they can live with, by having those internal conversations, Ben Johnson, Dennis Allen. I want to know the formula right now, what they believe. And then to see how they fulfill the formula once they figure out what they want to do, how close they can get to getting it done. that way because usually it doesn't work out the way. You can say, I want such and such and such and such

and such and then you settle for, well, we got this, that, and the third. I think DJ Moore is still as it stands right now, the number one receiver on the Bears. DJ Moore made catches that not only won games for this team, but kept them in it. His targets went down. He can't help that necessarily. So it takes two to tango when it comes to that aspect of it. It's a different, it's a different offense. So that also plays into it. I don't look, at it as like he's responsible solely for how his production went this year. But when he was called upon,

you could rely on him more than any other receiver on the team. And that's the point. But additionally, I think Ryan Poles is also understanding the salary cap issue that he's facing right now largely in part because of players he signed and extended. This is his team. These are his guys. He gave out the money.

And I wonder how that plays into this. The other thing is, Is he already talking to somebody based on these comments, or is he preparing us for something that we don't know? I feel like the way he described it, he's just saying, I am open for business. I'm not returning. I'm not rejecting anyone's phone calls. And to your point, Lila, he was the best of a receiving core, and the receivers were supposed to be a strength of the team. I would argue that as a core, they did not produce up to the level that they should have. That's reflected in the drop balls that the team had. But DJ Moore's been wide receiver number one, and many people, myself included, thought by now, after attending the NFL draft in Detroit, that Roma Dunesay would be higher on the depth chart than D.J. Moore, he is clearly not. Let's say, let's do a little game of, let's say, you guys ready for this?

Would you like to play a game? Let's say, let's say, DJ Moore is back and you have your receiver crew intact. You have DJ Moore, you have Roma Dunesay, you have Luther Burden. Colson Loveland, he's a receiver as well. Who would you guys say right now, who would you predict right now would be the leading receiver next year? Would DJ Moore, because I agree with you, Leila, this year, DJ Moore was still your most important wide receiver or receiver even over Loveland this year. He was the most important. But if we had to predict it right now, who is their top receiver including tight-ins?

Are we saying receiving yards, receptions? Are we just saying overall impact? How are we measuring? The most important guy. It's Loveland. It's going to be Loveland. Right. So there is, despite him being so good, it feels like there is some expendability here.

But what do you think, Leila? Do you think that, do you agree on Loveland? Loveland is the first name that came to my mind. However, when you look at how they're utilizing Luther Burden and he can, he has the same yak and rack capability. I love when you yak and rack. And not just me, but more so the Bears receivers. And that is something.

that DJ Moore also does well, I wonder how he's going to play into that factor. By yards alone, he's likely to get more when he touches the ball because of that scenario. I think the timing got better with him over the season to the point where you don't even think about it anymore. But the way that Loveland was used and when you consider that the comp of Sam Leporta was given by Ben Johnson early,

that telegraphs how he wants to use him in an offense. The physical mismatch of Colston Loveland alone is very, hard to deny. He's going to draw what's likely a physical mismatch. And especially if Cole Kovett's still on the team, commit blocked the way he did, things look a lot better. It's a nice one-two punch. The reason it's loving for me is because when you talk about overall impact, only one player had more first-down catches than Colston Lovin last year. And that was Roma Dunezay, who obviously didn't play a full season. Now, Rome could come back next season and be a guy who can catch the football. Like, let's let's put it bluntly, right?

But even though, Lela's what she just said, with the mismatches physically, Colston Loveland, having a year of NFL play under his belt, the speed of the game, the adjustments, I just really like what Colston Loveland is as a chess piece for Ben Johnson going forward. Luther Burton III also, DJ Moore, oh, reliable. I wonder, though, if DJ Moore comes back, are they finally going to put the chemistry issues aside, him and Caleb not quite always being on the same page? I could see a Colston Loveland being just a bigger impact player. And you just let Joday Walker loose, man. Just let him loose. Just get him on the field and see what he can do for the Bears. He diversifies a wide receiver room.

That's what Emory told me yesterday. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Emery, yeah, Emory Hunt loved Joddy Walker. More than airports for sure and speakerphone. And my drafts. Yeah. So there's that as well.

Those were his top three things that shouldn't have been invented. Now there's a lot more from this side session. Brian Pohl's speaking at the Combine. He discussed his evaluation of DJ Moore's 2025 season and his exit interview, which we did not get privy to in that end of season press conference. Early on, you have a lot of new things going on, and there's a lot of,

there's one football and there's a lot more talented targets. And how that all works out, I can't tell you, like where everybody is in different progressions. So I know at some points it was slow, some moments like you know towards the end of the season was amazing I think when you looked at the production across the board of all our guys it came out to be pretty even in terms of targets and yards so I thought he did a really good job and know Ben was very intentional with with getting them the

football to create opportunities but when you have Colson start to pop up Luther Cole Rome was going through different things throughout the season to start hot early so unique situation overall but I know we were happy with him throughout. What was your tone with him in the exit interview, just setting him up for what he can expect in the future? Yeah, very similar to the other guys. Went through the season.

The next thing, we also want to know what they need from us to help them be successful. But a real positive conversation with DJ and really everybody other also. Hmm. Real positive conversation with DJ more and then he never talked to us. But he did talk to people at the Super Bowl. I know. No, just in the moment, I still think that was a little bit weird.

I'm not saying that they said something to him and he walked out in a huff. And it may have just been because he didn't want to deal with answering questions about the last play of the bear season. Bears. What happened then? It's over. Season's over. Yeah. Now we're sad.

Yeah. Feel so sad. Sad bears. Don't be sad because it's over. Be happy that it happened. Oh, yeah, no question. Except that could have been the bears. that could have been the Bears in that NFC title game.

And I think about it. But here we are talking about like what are the pieces that the bears can add to get to the next level as opposed to who can save the franchise? A new head coach, a new quarterback. Yeah, we get to talk about very good players and the potential that there might be more very good players. Yes, yes, that we're living in a world where I can ask a question about. not having DJ more, or DJ more being on the team and him being the second or third most valuable receiver, that means that your first round pick from last year work. That means one of your three second round picks from last year, Luther Burden worked out just fine. You're going to make

the audience cry, Mark. Well, I'm trying to get them back up after I brought it down to sad bears. No, it's just one that leaves us all contemplating. Contemplative bears. Sad bears, happy bears, contemplative bears. You know, are the bears sitting and looking off into the distance trying to figure things out? Philosophical bears. Yes. But when it comes to DJ more in that discussion,

you know, the frustrating part is you want to hear what DJ would have to say after hearing Ryan Pohl say that. But we don't have that luxury. 90 times soon anyway. He'd just give that DJ smile and he's like, I don't know. You guys let to figure it out. Or he would just say, what?

Well, what he told her about is like, yeah, I'll be back. Everything's good. I'll be back. That was him basically letting us know he wants to come back. And I don't think it was sarcastic. And I took it as genuine when he said that because that's typically how he's been interacting. How can he not be genuine after having a losing record every NFL season of his entire career until last year? I think he's like, I want some more of that. I do think, though, like if there's a team who wants him and it's a team who needs a receiver.

They really want it. Does that team have a pass fresher? and $17 million a year to pay him, too? This is so me projecting. Does that team ever pass for sure? This is absolutely me projecting and I've got to stop. But when Ryan Pohl says stuff like, you know, we have to look at all the different scenarios. I'm like, what scenarios, Ryan?

What scenarios? Which scenario would be the one where you pull the trigger on a deal? That's what you want to know. That's what we all want to know. Yeah, that's it. That's the magic question. More to come here from the NFL Combine on this Tuesday on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3, the score of the press conferences we brought to you.

We're brought to you by your local Hyundai dealers. And in the meantime, there is more from the side session with Ryan Poles. So we will hear from it. He also talked about the team's approach and really was asked the question about winning now. So we'll hear what he has to say. More from the combine next. Rahimi Harrison Grody, Midday's 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. We're going to take the north and never give it back.

This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3 The Score. Was that the Ryan Poles Take the North and never give it back? It feels like so long since that happened.

Oh, that it took the North or that he said it? Yes. We're recording the Shovels in the Ground podcast today, Dan Weeder and I are.

Is that the temporary title? Yeah. Yeah. Shovels in John. It doesn't sound as good. It doesn't. Whisper SSG like you do. SST.

No. It doesn't work. Yeah, it doesn't work. It doesn't work. But I do appreciate it. appreciate the target in the title

in that we're going to have a new target every time that last target got accomplished we'll just change the name

to a new target. Exactly. Welcome to Hollis Harbor. If you missed the no, that was Ben Johnson. We think jovially

saying no regarding the possibility of Tyson Bayesian being traded. One of the textors said he saw the video

and the video looks like he was like a fake cough. It was definitely a fake cough with a smile in the video if you watch the case. Oh, okay. So he's letting you know

that his no is real. Okay. Tyson Chandler, here's your hotel room. No, he gets the sweet. Tyson Bayesian, you mean? What did I say? Tyson Chandler. Who I love. Who I absolutely love. You love the Bulls Grotty. I was just bringing, I was just talking about Tyson Chandler

with Lawrence Holmes last week. We were talking about how he had. We were talking about Eddie Curry and Tyson Chandler and was like, Tyson Chandler had a really nice career. Not the part with the Bulls necessarily, but he had a really nice career. He did have a really nice career. In the career? No, he didn't, but he played for a long, longer than I thought he had played.

He definitely played for a long time. And Eddie Curry is back home being a Bulls ambassador. I like that. That makes me feel good. Good for you, Eddie Curry. One of the percent chances that Tyson Bayesian is a Bears ambassador when his career is over. I say 100. He could be.

Unless he wants to stay in West Virginia. 98. 98%. Oh, you were actually giving a percentage. Yeah, sorry. It's pretty strong. I do believe 98% is the answer. Now, there is some actual business to get to from a lot of what we heard at the NFL Combine.

And it was the first question that was asked to Ryan Poles. Well, he wasn't the only one who also discussed it. Ian Cunningham met the media at the Combine. And he said the Bears should get compensatory draft picks for him getting hired in Atlanta. I haven't had much time to really dive into like the, the wording of it. It was always my interpretation that if a general manager gets hired, that team would receive two third round picks. I'm a general manager I was hired. I would think that they would get two third round picks. I don't know the

wording of it. That's just my perspective. Again, I wouldn't be sitting here if it weren't for them giving me that job and helping me grow to get this job right now. So in case you missed it earlier this morning, that's what Ian Cunningham had to say when it came to the Bears needing to get the compensatory draft picks. Ryan Poles also echoed that. And I thought that that was something that needed to be said by the both of them. That was the first question Ryan Poles was asked. And Ian Cunningham was also talked to about it as well.

It felt very concerned, Leila. felt like there's big conversations. Those guys are buddies, and they probably are like, hey, are we not getting our picks? And then Ian kind of was like, yeah, what's going on? I was like, all right, don't worry. I got you. In the first session with Ryan Poles today, he didn't quite commit to actually saying they have appealed it, but he did say that they have had conversations in regards to an appeal.

So like for people wondering, because I know a lot of people still are very interested in this story. or the bears. Or just salty about it. And that's cool on the economy. Yeah, you're damn right. You're worth some compensatory picks. Well, and Ryan Poles also adding, here's the frustrating part. Ryan Poles shouldn't have to add his personal experience to this discussion.

He shouldn't have to remind the NFL of a law that they decided to institute. And they decided to incentivize teams who hire general manager candidates who are minorities and then give them to compensatory draft picks when they get a promotion to a title like general manager. It shouldn't have to take, Ryan Poles telling the NFL that. It shouldn't have to take Ian Cunningham. It shouldn't have to take them justifying why they both got promotions.

This is a picks free situation where nobody's giving up anything. A lot of people thought in the reactions and I've seen people think, oh, they're taking picks from the Falcons. No. This is part of the incentive that the NFL wanted to give teams free, compensatory picks, and now they're selectively applying the rules, and frankly, perhaps illustrating why the rule

was brought in to begin with? You're taking me back to my grill master when I was a kid, when I used to cook, and my mom said, if I made food for myself, guess what? I had to feed my brother and sister younger than me as well. So I might make a couple of, you know, grilled cheese sandwiches, filling. good and they'd be like, well, where's ours? I want one. And it wasn't me saying, here's mine.

No, I just made some more girl cheese sandwiches. The NFL could just make some more picks. That's the most frustrating part about all of this is to make them have to justify their existence and their promotions in this. You're somewhat illustrating why this needed to happen anyway. Yeah, it's a bad look for the league. I'm still thinking about that grilling.

What were you? grilling. The grilled cheese sandwiches. Oh, the grilled cheese. No, you're not. You know, like the grill master where you can just put anything on the grill and just, like, I used to make pancakes. I used to cook up whatever they wanted.

Nice. But sometimes I just cook something for myself. Big brother over there. Because you could smell that food throughout the house, obviously. The flat top, like, griddle. Yes. That is a real luxurious thing. I was going to say.

Yeah, fancy. Is that luxurious? Yeah. It just has more space so you can do more stuff on it at the same time. That's it. It's like, oh, people put bread on the grid on the grid. they put eggs on it, then they'll put like the bread in the egg grease or something if they want. Listen, I was out here making pancakes, flipping pancakes.

Yeah? Yes. So many pancakes. I think the thing that just bothers me the boast about the cutting ham and pole situation isn't just that they have to justify it. It's that it comes at the cost of nobody. Like either under, give the people the picks in the spirit of the law. It feels petty. Or don't give them at all.

Yeah. But I don't think what they understand is. again, in asking these men to justify their careers, you have illustrated why it is an issue. Can I read a funny text to you guys? Of always. From the Combine? Do you know it's not? No!

I can't stop. It actually pertains to that. It keeps going out of my head. It actually pertains to that. So, of course, I'm on a text thread with Dan Weiderer and, um, it is, and, and, Adam TZzynski, because we do the Take the North podcast. We're planning stuff out. Are you taking us inside backstage at TTN?

I am taking you backstage at TTN right now. Now, that's right. That's right. Shovels in the ground. That's the new name of the... Wait, that's what I was going to say. Shovels in S? Should be four letters.

See, that's why it doesn't work. So the shovel at the S in the end, that's where I got with us. SITS. So we're all trying to figure out like what do we want audio. SITG. Yeah, that's it. Shuffles of the ground. No.

I don't think it's as good. I just don't. We're all trying to figure out what do we want to do. And I got this side, just like we do on the show. Like we're on text for it. We all have our opinions. We try to put a show together. Dan Weider are just now in the text thread.

Ben's answer on Baygent is a must-play today, funniest moment of the day. So, yes, confirmed they're having fun with that, too. We concur. We concur. It has been a delight to have fun with Ben Johnson. I need more. Can we have fun with Chris Emma? Yeah, we need Chris Simba's firsthand account of the Ben Johnson answer.

I just literally want to know two words. what he thinks has been the biggest story of the day so far out there at the Combine and, of course, the hilarity of Ben Johnson. And he was present for the side sessions as well. We haven't gotten to all of that sound yet, so Chris will tell us about a lot of it next.