Sources: Warren bolts Big Ten for Bears CEO job
The Chicago Bears are expected to hire Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren as their new president and CEO, multiple sources told…
CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears will name Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren as their president and CEO, sources have confirmed to ESPN.
Warren will replace outgoing president and CEO Ted Phillips, who announced his retirement last September following the 2022 season. The Bears, who could announce the hiring as early as Thursday, interviewed Warren in person last month.
Warren has informed Illinois chancellor Robert Jones, chair of the Big Ten council of presidents/chancellors, of his departure, according to sources.
The Big Ten presidents and chancellors are set to meet later Thursday morning. The Bears’ plan to hire Warren was first reported Thursday by NFL Network.
Warren has been with the Big Ten since June 2019 but recently was not given a contract extension by the conference, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. His extensive experience in the NFL includes stints with the Rams, Lions and Vikings, where he worked from 2005 to 2019. He spent 2005-14 as the Vikings’ executive vice president of legal affairs and chief administrative officer before being promoted to Minnesota’s chief operating officer in 2015.
Sources told ESPN that Warren’s impact in helping the Vikings build U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016 has been appealing to the Bears, who are also looking to construct a new stadium in the coming years after 50 seasons at Soldier Field. The Bears aim to close on their 326-acre purchase of Arlington Heights during the first quarter of 2023 and unveiled initial plans for the development, which is set to include a domed stadium, last fall.
The Bears have been under contract on the property since September 2021, when they signed a $197.2 million purchase and sale agreement.
Phillips spent 40 seasons with the Bears, including the past 23 in his role as president/CEO. He was only the fourth person to serve as president in the organization’s 102-year existence and the first outside of the Halas-McCaskey family to hold that post.
ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg contributed to this report.
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