The Chicago Bears appear to be close to finding a replacement for team president and CEO Ted Phillips, who plans to retire in early 2023 and they’re zeroing in on Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren.
According to ESPN college insider Pete Thamel, Warren is considered a finalist for the job and the process could be wrapped up within the next few weeks.
Sources: Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren has emerged as a top candidate to be the next President/CEO of the Chicago Bears. He’s interviewed in person for the job and is considered among the final candidates. The process is expected to wrap up in the upcoming weeks.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 29, 2022
Warren has served as the Big Ten commissioner since 2020 and has been instrumental in expanding the conference with USC and UCLA set to join in 2024, while also spearheading a new TV deal for the conference. Warren also has been criticized for his handling of the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020 after he initially cancelled the season before bringing it back in October with a reduced schedule.
Prior to the Big Ten, Warren held various front office positions with the Minnesota Vikings, Detroit Lions, and St. Louis Rams. He’s on the shortlist to replace Phillips, who is retiring after 39 years with the organization, 23 of which were spent as team president and CEO.
The news of Warren’s potential hiring has sent shockwaves across both pro and college football. It could create a massive shift in both sports and fans have mixed reactions on the possible move.
Kevin Warren presided over the Big Ten as it expanded to add USC and UCLA and then helped strike the richest conference TV deal in college sports.
Many around college athletics expected that he'd eventually return to the NFL. Looks like it's happening. https://t.co/hGg1P3wcTx
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 29, 2022
Cool, another business/administrator at the top of football ops!
Hopefully they have enough sense to split the business and football into two executive structures. https://t.co/yyccgRy1pa
— Michael Gus (@MichaelGus57) December 29, 2022
So he just added USC/UCLA, negotiated the new conference TV deal and is dipping? Interesting. @KCCINews @scottreister @SEhrhardtKCCI https://t.co/XgBIcrWDMB
— Jeff Dubrof KCCI (@JeffDubrofKCCI) December 29, 2022
Bears saw the tv deal he got and said they need him making them money like that https://t.co/qgSelXmqDM
— Albaro (@martinez3507) December 29, 2022
Wow. This would be a BIG hire for the #Bears https://t.co/nG6DhssRsL
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) December 29, 2022
He did a good job of packaging a mid product (B1G) as something better than it is. Which is exactly what the Bears are https://t.co/cvITdVyoAG
— Ryan Day is a fraud (@FlowsAndolini) December 29, 2022
I know a lot of B1G fans don't like Warren, but he seems like a really strong candidate from my perspective.
Highly experienced, having worked in meaningful roles for 3 NFL franchises and on NFL-wide committees.
Oversaw the stadium building project in Minnesota. https://t.co/FZCDjx3OLK
— Johnathan Wood (@Johnathan_Wood1) December 29, 2022
Blew ownership away. https://t.co/vhjyjOQfSH
— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) December 29, 2022
Don't know enough about him to form an opinion but he can't be worse than Phillips. https://t.co/JmwYKoYxak
— Delirious Bears fan (@LukeSErick91) December 29, 2022
Good riddance to incompetence!! https://t.co/6H9YXr2M1N
— Zach Smith (@CoachZachSmith) December 29, 2022
Wow that came out of nowhere
Certainly a much bigger name than our last President who was a tax auditor https://t.co/BHSpqxCCiZ
— DaWindyCity Productions (@dwcprodz) December 29, 2022
uh, someone explain the significance of this to me like I am five years old https://t.co/8jG98AzKkn
— Cody Delmendo (@Cody_CHGO) December 29, 2022
Wow, kinda interesting considering the timing https://t.co/1DUETPSzyr
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) December 29, 2022
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out! https://t.co/AAO1jAPuLY
— Buckeye Nation 🅾️ (@buckeyeboy20) December 29, 2022
This is a potentially MASSIVE hire for the Chicago Bears. Game changing https://t.co/wKNUYsUKbz
— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@PFF_Brad) December 29, 2022
This is a significant development for both the Bears and the trajectory of major college football. https://t.co/JPGOQIQmJF
— Josh Schrock (@Schrock_And_Awe) December 29, 2022
That would be a good hire the #Bears but a loss for Big 10 https://t.co/fzmpTtfooJ
— Steve Fifer (@SparkyRadio) December 29, 2022
Kevin Warren did a great job on the new Big Ten TV deal after a rough start leading the conference. This is hardly a surprise for someone who spent 22 years as an NFL executive across three franchises.https://t.co/T05OlY9hkm
— Adam Silverstein (@SilversteinAdam) December 29, 2022
Football gods really hate the Bears https://t.co/PYfNUeWrJ9
— LoudLobster578🇺🇸 (@Loudlobster578) December 29, 2022
He wanted to cancel the football season as everyone else was playing including his own son. Hope Chicago hires him away from the Big10. https://t.co/8NmQPlVLWg
— Kevin (@SDKevinE) December 29, 2022
The pain of the Chicago Bears never ends. What the hell. https://t.co/hkY2io9Pxh
— Boilers and Beyond (@BoilersBeyond) December 29, 2022
When can he start? https://t.co/nxRlsk9h6V
— Brody Jack (@brodybeilfuss) December 29, 2022
I love it when we get fresh Bears news in a season like this.
One half of Twitter will defend this to the bone and the other half will act like this will start Lake Michigan on fire.
It's always so damn predictable who will take each side. 😅 https://t.co/YD78HEtMp7
— Duke Coughlin (@ThatPodGuyDuke) December 29, 2022
