The Chicago Bears are expected to hire Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren as the team's new President and Chief Executive Officer, NFL Network National Insider Ian Rapoport wrote in a Thursday tweet.
A top candidate for the Bears in late December, Warren will replace long-time President and CEO Ted Phillips. Phillips, who served as the team's fourth-ever president since early 1999, announced he would retire after 40 seasons with the team in September.
Warren was the Minnesota Vikings' COO from 2015-19. He took over for Jim Delany as Commissioner of the Big Ten in 2019.
The Big Ten put out a statement following the release of reports of him being a finalist for the job.
“Over the course of three decades in professional and collegiate sports, Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren regularly receives unique opportunities and requests for his expertise from leaders across a variety of industries ranging from professional sports ownership groups to private equity firms,” the conference wrote in a late-December statement. “The Commissioner utilizes each occurrence to listen, learn and assist every stakeholder in the most appropriate and effective manner.
“The Commissioner remains focused on the Big Ten Conference, its 14 member institutions and over 10,000 student-athletes in both regular-season and postseason play.”
Kevin Warren was evasive when asked directly by Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman about the potential Bears job on a call with Big Ten athletic directors on Wednesday, ESPN College Football Senior Writer Pete Thamel wrote in a Thursday article. A group of athletic directors had also discussed life without Warren.
“The future of Warren is close to being decided, as his candidacy for the role of president and CEO of the Chicago Bears hangs in the balance,” Thamel wrote. “Expect clarity on Warren's move to the Bears to come in the near future, as sources in the Big Ten and within the industry view it as an inevitability.”
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