With last season’s struggles and an uncertain outlook for GM Ryan Poles, a shakeup at Halas Hall felt inevitable and it just landed in a surprising area. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears have parted ways with Krithi Chandrakasan, their Director of Football Analytics. Chandrakasan, hired by Poles in 2022, previously worked as a data scientist in Kansas City for three years. Despite the familiarity, it seems Chandrakasan didn’t deliver the results Poles was counting on.
This move suggests a potential overhaul of the Bears’ analytics department. While the exact impact of analytics on roster-building is hard to quantify, recent decisions like the acquisitions of Chase Claypool and Velus Jones Jr. leave much to be desired. Both were major missteps, making it evident that a fresh approach might be necessary.
One notable factor in this decision could be Chandrakasan’s limited NFL experience. Before his stint with the Bears, he served as an intern in Jacksonville in 2016, spent two years outside football, and joined Kansas City in 2019. By the time he took the Chicago role, he had only four years of NFL analytics experience. Poles may have overestimated his readiness—or perhaps team president Kevin Warren aims to bring in his own choice for the position.
Potential internal candidates to fill the role include Football Research Analyst Ryan Hubley or Andrea Wright, the Football Administration and Analytics Coordinator, who was promoted just last year and is seen as a rising star. If Poles looks externally, it will be intriguing to see who he targets for this crucial position. Whoever steps into the role will be tasked with driving a much-needed analytical revival for the Bears.
