Kevin Warren Hired as Chicago Bears President

Many Chicago Bears fans have wished for the day where Ted Phillips is no longer the Chicago Bears’ team president. Well that day is today.

Several sources are now reporting this hire, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was first on the news.

The Chicago Bears made it official a couple of hours later via their Twitter account.

Warren has an impressive resumé in both the NFL and college. Warren has both a legal and business background and joined the then St. Louis Rams in 1997. He jumped to the Detroit Lions organization in 2001 and then spent 15 years in the Minnesota Vikings organization from 2005 to 2019 and spend the last 5 years there as the team’s Chief Operating Officer. Warren became Commissioner of the Big 10 in 2019. He was in charge of the Big 10’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and he was integral in Big 10 expansion opening the doors for both USC and UCLA to join the conference.

Chicago Bears’ chairman George McCaskey spoke about Warren’s hire via the Chicago Bears website:

“Kevin is a man of integrity, respect and excellence, all of which are critical core values of the Chicago Bears, and we welcome his perspective and diverse thought to lead this storied organization. He is a proven leader who has many times stepped outside of his comfort zone to challenge status quo for unconventional growth and prosperity. In this role, Warren will serve in the primary leadership position of the franchise to help bring the next Super Bowl championship trophy home to Bears fans.”

Warren played a large role in the Vikings’ design and construction of US Bank Stadium, something several outlets have reported was an important aspect of his hiring with Chicago. Warren will play a large role with the Bears in developing and constructing their new stadium in Arlington Heights.

Ryan Poles became the first person of color to hold the General Manager title in Chicago Bears’ history and now Warren becomes the first person of color to hold the President title in the franchise’s history as well.

Warren joins the Bears’ organization at a pivotal time in the franchise’s history. Not only is the franchise working on moving out of Chicago to Arlington Heights, but he also joins them in an offseason where they hold the number one pick in the draft for the first time since 1947 and they have well over $100 million in cap space to operate with when the new league year opens in March. According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Warren will be joining in April right in the midst of this offseason.

A busy offseason for the Chicago Bears is just getting started, but adding new leadership to the top of the organization was a critical place to start.