The Chicago Bears have found their new president and CEO in Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren, according to a number of insiders.
An official announcement is expected later this week.
Warren will replace Ted Phillips, who’s retiring next month after spending 39 years with the Bears organization, including his current role since 1999.
Warren has 23 years of NFL experience, where he’s served in various roles dating back to 1997. That includes time with the Minnesota Vikings as executive vice president of legal affairs and chief administrative officer (2005-14) and chief operating officer (2015-19).
During his time with the Vikings, Warren played an integral role in the creation of U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016. With the Bears gearing up to make headway on their Arlington Heights stadium, Warren’s hiring makes too much sense.
As you can imagine, there’s plenty of reaction about Warren joining the Bears — both from the NFL and college side, where both Bears fans and Big Ten fans are celebrating the move.
Here’s how Twitter is reacting:
Get the @ChicagoBears to Arlington Heights!!! 🐻⬇️ #Bears https://t.co/9VbJFKyzmu
— chitownFDawg (@chitownFDawg) January 12, 2023
Then he followed it up by getting a great TV rights deal and landing USC/UCLA
— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@PFF_Brad) January 12, 2023
Wow. This is huge news!
Big hire to replace Ted Phillips and more “proof” Arlington Heights is happening.#DaBears https://t.co/pGVTA29Kaq— Rob Schwarz Jr. (@ChiRuxinBGO) January 12, 2023
The Bears CEO, GM, assistant GM, and QB are all black men https://t.co/PDz0qW5dLs
— adam (@_adamhess) January 12, 2023
And it’s official. Adios Ted https://t.co/o58MisWtCi
— DaWindyCity Productions (@dwcprodz) January 12, 2023
If Kevin Warren just does the business side and keeps his nose out of any football hirings or trying to cancel football games for Covid or trying to expand the NFC North then this will be good.
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) January 12, 2023
Kevin Warren giving the Big Ten the Abraham Simpson
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) January 12, 2023
Ted Phillips is GONE!!!! https://t.co/16Gr8zxptN pic.twitter.com/k2DyHaPJfB
— The other Matt (@MinnesotaQuack) January 12, 2023
Kevin Warren is gone. He nailed a huge TV contract for the B1G. But I’ll never forgive him for how he handled the Covid season.
— Rick Webster (@TheRickWebster) January 12, 2023
A+ hire. Kevin Warren will bring stability, leadership, and competence to the organization. https://t.co/2On05HoDDr
— Paul Charchian (@PaulCharchian) January 12, 2023
Welcome to the Bears Kevin Warren. Undoubtedly you have some interesting off-field conversations and decisions to make. We all wish you the best of luck.
— Ross Read (@RossRead) January 12, 2023
The Bears franchise just changed forever. Kevin Warren. A winning culture. This is a happy day bears fan. History has been made today at Halas hall.
— MikeyBets (Chicago’s Meatball) (@RealMikeyBets) January 12, 2023
KEVIN WARREN IS MY PRESIDENT. MY GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD!
— Henny ♎️ (@CamronSanto) January 12, 2023
Kevin Warren adding UCLA and USC to the Big Ten and then dipping out under a year later is such an incredible move. You must respect Warren's unyielding loyalty to Mess.
— Subscribe to Badgers Ball Knower (@drewhamm5) January 12, 2023
The Bears actually have a normal human being running the team now in Kevin Warren. Ted Philips was a clown as president. This is a slam dunk hire by the organization!
— ☘️ChrisPaz☘️ (@ND_Domerfan) January 12, 2023
BOOM. What an upgrade man, I love this hire very much.
I got a good feeling about Kevin Warren leading this team as president. A man who knows the game/has football knowledge, and a man that's great with the business/financial side of things. This is what #DaBears sorely needed https://t.co/H6Clk2Z4Va
— Jaybills Games🐻⬇️ (@JaybillsGames) January 12, 2023
I think Kevin Warren is a home run hire by the Bears. Let’s go.
— Alex Patt (@chifanpatt2) January 12, 2023
Kevin Warren to George McCaskey when he and Ryan Poles start talking Football #Bears pic.twitter.com/aNu32VJCuQ
— Jake (@Jake_B30) January 12, 2023
Kevin Warren may actually get #DaBears on Hard Knocks. He's brokered the biggest media rights deal in CFB history and that background is going to go a long way.
Also… Arlington Heights. 🫶
— Michael Bolling (@mikealexbolling) January 12, 2023
The Bears nailed the hires of Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus. Then they go out and hire Kevin Warren to be President & CEO. Staggering competence at 1920 Football Drive. pic.twitter.com/rGn7CtimX5
— Billy Schultz 🇺🇦 (@bschultzy) January 12, 2023
Kevin Warren's biggest task is seeing how he can pull $500 mil from the state of Illinois. That's how much he got for half the payment of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
— Ross Read (@RossRead) January 12, 2023
Kevin Warren, Ryan Poles, Justin Fields ….ITS A NEW ERA IN CHICAGO. Get on board! pic.twitter.com/UEOjHisWr1
— Asst GM of CTE Ball (@CNN_90) January 12, 2023
I don't know what Kevin Warren will bring to the job, but it's not Ted and it's not George and he has football bonafides so it's got to be a step up.
— man with 105 IQ (@pnutfinger) January 12, 2023
Kevin Warren is meant for professional football. People are going to say this is a bad hire purely because of the COVID issue when his job was to make the B1G money, and he’s as good as it gets. https://t.co/iOULBh3m8p
— Rob Gallik (@CoachGallik) January 12, 2023
Big Ten fans hearing Kevin Warren is leaving the Big Ten pic.twitter.com/fR5LiOUjUP
— The Fans Edge (@TheFansEdge) January 12, 2023
The Kevin Warren news has been simmering for a couple weeks, so no shock he is the guy, but I love the direction the Bears are taking.
He should do a lot in terms of getting the Bears a new stadium.
— Matt Eurich (@MattEurich) January 12, 2023
I LOVE THIS HIRE https://t.co/4pz8WcaARN
— Carolina Teague (@carolinateague_) January 12, 2023
What should I put in the gift basket I send the Bears later this afternoon? https://t.co/RwDBYFjbFx
— Josh Pate (@LateKickJosh) January 12, 2023
Him leaving B1G money and headed to the Bears. That wasn't cheap in the part of the McCaskey family. https://t.co/8QF9zYsYAh
— Da TailGate Show ™️ (@DaTailGateShow) January 12, 2023
The Big Ten owes the Bears big time for this one #IUB https://t.co/soaPuWsISm
— Barstool IU (@IUBarstool) January 12, 2023
Huge move for the #Bears. Big. Bold. Smart. Biggest offseason in decades off to a great start. Kevin Warren is as qualified for this role as anybody the McCaskeys ever have hired for a big job. https://t.co/rSg35FKhfs
— David Haugh (@DavidHaugh) January 12, 2023
Hey we have an adult running things now that’s neat https://t.co/0PUDY6SRyg
— Chicago Football Connection (@CFCBears) January 12, 2023
That's a big hire for the Bears. At least on paper, Warren is the single most qualified hire they've made at the top of the organization in decades. https://t.co/07xNAB8oyQ
— Johnathan Wood (@Johnathan_Wood1) January 12, 2023
Buy stock in the Bears now. It’s only up from here⬆️ https://t.co/tDlqOpJBQR
— Fields is QB1. Calm Down (@DaBears_2) January 12, 2023
