Silvy: Bears GM Ryan Poles faces a critical season. Can he turn talk into tangible results?

How much pressure is on Ryan Poles this season? It depends on who you ask.

The Bears’ general manager was given a three-year contract extension, providing him with stability with the team for the next five years, aligning him with new head coach Ben Johnson on the same timeline.

He was reportedly under contract for two more years to begin with. The Bears naively think they’re hiding national secrets with Poles’ contract length, ironic when they publicize the length of every player’s deal.

With that, a portion of the Bears’ fan base thinks there’s very little pressure on Poles, as ownership has given him new money and more patience.

We should all have bosses who believe in us the way George McCaskey and Kevin Warren believe in Poles.

What has Poles done to earn an extension well before his current deal was set to expire? He has yet to draft a Pro Bowler and has one of the worst three-year runs in Bears franchise history. The Bears are 15-36 with two historic double-digit losing streaks under Poles.

Yet, this is the same organization that not only let go of Jerry Vanisi in 1987 after compiling a 47-17 record, but also eliminated the GM role entirely.

After the 2011 season, the Bears fired Jerry Angelo, who had a 95-81 record, a Super Bowl appearance and four trips to the playoffs. The Bears have been to the playoffs only twice since.

Many consider Phil Emery to be the worst Bears GM of the modern era, but even he had a record of 23-25 in three seasons.

I understand the Bears can’t keep making drastic changes year after year and expect to win. Under Poles, the Bears replaced their offensive and defensive coordinators, their QB and now their head coach.

Stability is much needed inside Halas Hall. By all accounts, Poles did a fantastic job landing Johnson, but why would that warrant a contract extension? There’s still much that needs to be proved to EARN an extension.

The Cubs allowed their president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, who has been with the team for almost 15 years and has won a World Series, to enter the last year of his contract. It was a prove-it year for a guy who has shown much more than Poles, and so far, Hoyer has delivered a first-place team.

Ryan Pace had a similar 14-34 record after three seasons as Bears GM, and like Poles, got a contract extension after he fired John Fox and hired Matt Nagy. It wasn’t a popular decision at the time, either. The Bears went out the next year and won the division with a 12-4 record. And that’s what Poles needs to happen to quiet the critics: win.

Poles has coined so many mantras for the Bears over the past three seasons:

• “We’re going to take the North and never give it back.”

• “Our culture is awesome.”

• “We’re going to break the cycle” (of not having a great quarterback).

• “It’s time to win.”

They all look great on Instagram slides to hype the fanbase, but the hope was always hollow. The Bears have “taken” last place in the North every season, had a dysfunctional locker room, and the “circle of suck” continued this past year rather than breaking a cycle.

If the Bears don’t win big in the next couple of years, I don’t want to hear that they’re forced to keep a GM who has a few years left on his deal. The Bears didn’t have to do this; they had plenty of time.

New contract or not, it’s time for Poles to produce results immediately. Enough with winning the offseason, it’s time to win games. Success will create true stability, not a new contract that hasn’t been earned.

• Marc Silverman shares his opinions on the Bears weekly for Shaw Local. Tune in and listen to the “Waddle & Silvy” show weekdays from 2 to 6 p.m. on ESPN 1000.