News broke Thursday that Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren had emerged as a top candidate to replace Ted Phillips as Chicago Bears team president. Rumors are he crushed interviews with ownership, and his qualifications speak for themselves. He first joined an NFL front office as a legal counsel in 1997 with the St. Louis Rams and helped them win the Super Bowl two years later. He later became a guiding force for the Minnesota Vikings from 2005 to 2019, helping them build U.S. Bank Stadium and field consistently good teams. He was one of the primary decision-makers in hiring productive GM Rick Spielman.
However, it doesn’t appear as if this is a recent development. Some saw it coming months ago. Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune spoke with a top NFL source about the Bears’ team president position. The person immediately pointed out Warren as an obvious candidate they’d gravitate to. It was only because of his qualifications but also his natural fit.
The guy is tailor-made to run this franchise.
“It would make too much sense,” the source said. “If the Bears are really doing this with an eye on reason and searching for a leader to oversee their football team and also aid in their pursuit of a new stadium, you’ve got to find someone who has done all that. You don’t give this to someone who was running Ford. It should be a person with a deep football background. It should be a person with an array of experience. It should be a person who has worked inside the National Football League. Kevin checks a lot of those boxes. And he’s in your backyard right there in Illinois with the Big Ten.”
Within league circles, there has been buzz that Warren is eager to return to the NFL and that his expected stay as commissioner of the Big Ten could be short.
It isn’t a surprise. Warren came painfully close to winning a Super Bowl twice in 2009 and 2017 with the Vikings. Both ended in NFC championship losses. Returning to become the first minority team president in Bears history has plenty of appeal.
Kevin Warren knows how to get things done.
His run as Big Ten commissioner can’t be overlooked. In his short time there, he got the conference through the COVID pandemic, inked a lucrative TV deal with NBC, and then added prominent schools in USC and UCLA to the lineup. Now two of his schools are in a position to compete for the national championship. Nobody can say the man is a failure. He’s had success everywhere he’s been. Undoubtedly, he would understand what it takes to make the Bears a winning organization again. His extensive background actually working in the NFL is already miles ahead of where Phillips was in 1999.
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The thing to keep in mind is Kevin Warren wouldn’t be the primary football decision-maker. That responsibility rests with GM Ryan Poles. Both would have direct access to George McCaskey. Warren would be in charge of the business decisions. He’d assume control of team finances and continue the process Phillips started with a new stadium. Nothing is set in stone yet. Presuming it comes to fruition, it would be something intelligent people saw coming months ago.
If the Bears want a negotiator for its president, Warren may well be a great choice.
However, the line, “Nobody can say the man is a failure. He’s had success everywhere he’s been,” isn’t quite right. Many people would say Warren had some successes as Big Ten commissioner, but overall, given what he did with conference management, Warren was a failure. And as for getting the Rams to the Super Bowl as a lawyer! That’s nuts.
So — if Warren stays away from the football operations and sticks to facilities management, OK. Otherwise, he’ll simply be the next disaster.
Well, it appears the Bears are finally moving on from Ted Phillips (who never was a football guy) to a fellow who has more qualifications and has had a successful career in college sports. Kudos to the Bears!
If this is old news, why are we just hearing about it here now, and why two reports in one day?