The Chicago Bears have several needs they need to address in free agency.

Chicago needs to add another wide receiver (with Allen Robinson likely departing in free agency) to play alongside Darnell Mooney. The Bears also need to address the cornerback position and their interior offensive line, along with several other positions.

Winning in free agency is obviously about spending money. But that's not the only detail that goes into a player signing. When the offers are all close, free agents have to look at other factors. Things like the organization's vision and its culture can be a "tie-breaker" in free agency.

Fortunately for the Bears, it appears they have a bit of a secret weapon when it comes to free agency.

The headline this offseason for the Bears was the hiring of Matt Eberflus as the franchise's new head coach and Ryan Poles as the new general manager.

Eberflus is expected to bring a new culture to Chicago that's based on his H.I.T.S philosophy (Hustle, intensity, taking the ball away, situationally smart). And Poles brings a tremendous reputation as an excellent talent evaluator to the organization.

Those weren't the only two hires, however, that Chicago made this offseason.

The Bears also brought in a new assistant general manager in Ian Cunningham, who joins Chicago after five seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles and nine seasons with the Baltimore Ravens.

Cunningham is an under-radar-hire, but he could end up affecting free agency in a big way — simply due to his presence in the Bears' front office.

A rival front office executive and an agent had high praise for him recently via anonymous comments to The Athletic. And they indicated that players will sign with Chicago in free agency because of Cunningham.

From The Athletic:

The Bears’ hiring of Poles wasn’t questioned nearly as much as the team’s process that led to him. Those who talked about it rolled their eyes on the Bears’ need to use Bill Polian as an adviser, despite Polian’s Hall of Fame credentials.

It was offset by praise for new assistant GM Ian Cunningham, though. He may be the most popular member of the new staff. League sources raved about what he can mean for Poles and the personnel department.

“Cunningham will bring guys in,” one agent said. “They’ll sign because of him.”

“He’s the one,” a rival front-office executive said.

Winning a Super Bowl is about more than just the players on the field or the head coach. It's about an organization being aligned from top to bottom and everyone having the same goal.

It sounds like the Bears are finally ready to change the narrative that's followed the franchise around the last few years. Chicago made some really nice hires this offseason. And it feels like those nice hires are going to lead to positive results on Sundays.

Featured image via Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports