With the retirement of Ted Phillips, the Chicago Bears will now be on the hunt for a new President of the Chicago Bears. Phillips, who oversaw the Bears as president since 1999, announced his decision to retire back in September of this year. Phillips will be remembered for his transformation of the Bears operational facility at Halas Hall. He also moved the staff offices to a more renovated downtown location. In terms of team performance, Phillips served as President during the Bears 2006 NFC Champions season and has been through six head coaches during his tenure.
With Phillips being a thing of the past, it’s time to look forward to who the new President of the Chicago Bears. And as of right now, there is one clear front runner, Kevin Warren. Warren currently serves as commissioner of the BIG Ten. He has held the role since the 2020 season and his first major football task was trying to maneuver the BIG Ten Conference through the trials and tribulations of Covid-19. Many thought that Warren handled the situation poorly, as other commissioner’s from other conferences voiced their support to play on. It was actually then Ohio State QB at the time Justin Fields who spearheaded the movement to play ball in 2020. Warren’s biggest accomplishment to date in BIG Ten football has been having two teams in the 2022 CFP. Looking at prior NFL experience, Warren most recently served in the NFL as the Chief Operating Officer of the Minnesota Vikings from 2015-2019. During this tenure, Warren guided the Vikings through the build of their new stadium, Bank of America Stadium. Along with heading the build of the new stadium for the Vikings, Warren also helped with ongoing construction of the Vikings new practice facility in Eagan, Minnesota. Before he became the COO of the Vikings, Warren held the role of Executive Vice President of Legal Affairs and Chief Administrative Officer from 2005-2014. Other roles held with other NFL teams include Senior VP of Business Operations and General Counsel with the Lions from 2001-2003 and held various leadership roles with the St. Louis Rams from 1997-2000.
Warren, who is the strongest candidate at this point in the season, has a tough resume to overlook. In terms of the future outlook of the Chicago Bears from a purely business perspective, the new stadium in Arlington Heights has to be the hottest topic. If we are being honest, Soldier Field is old and losing its luster as one of the better stadiums in the NFL (if it ever was one). It is now time to usher in a new era of Chicago Bears football and it starts with a fresh, modern stadium. Warren can point to his experience with the Vikings, and possibly sell an even better stadium if he is appointed President.
With all this being said, it is worth noting that there has been a massive overhaul not only on the football side of things, but also in the front office. Let’s not forget that it was only the beginning of this season where we welcomed the first year head coach/GM tandem in Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles. With the addition of a new President, it will be a completely new look for this Bears organization once the 2023 season begins. All eyes will be on this next hire, and whether or not they can advance the Bears into the modern NFL.
