NFL Rumors: Big Ten's Kevin Warren Is 'Top Candidate' to Be Next Bears President/CEO

According to Pete Thamel, Kevin Warren is a top candidate to be the next president and CEO of the Chicago Bears.

The Bears are likely to make a decision soon.

The report was denied by the city, which said it had not set a timetable for announcing a replacement for TedPhillips.

Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter

Statement from Bears on Pres. and CEO search:

"We have not set a timeline for announcing Ted Phillip's successor. Our search team has cast a wide net, spoke to many outstanding candidates and looks forward to introducing our next President and CEO at the process's conclusion."

The Bears announced in September that they would be retiring from the team at the end of February. He was the fourth president of the Bears.

He said when he retired.

It is forty seasons. I love my job. It gave me time to think about what I want to be when I grow older. I'm healthy and there's no problem there. I wanted to give myself time to enjoy my family and friends.

There's a lot of pressure and it takes a lot of time. It was time to hand the baton to someone else.

The Bears haven't won a Super Bowl since 1986 and haven't made it past the first round of the playoffs since the 2010 season.

The addition of second-year quarterback Justin Fields in 2021. provided the club with a lot of hope for the future, but the Bears are once again out of the playoffs with a 3-12 record this season.

"Warren's experience with the Minnesota Vikings, as well as his role in helping the team build U.S. Bank Stadium, has been appealing to the Bears."

Warren's familiarity with the process of building a stadium would be beneficial for the Bears, who purchased land in Arlington Heights in hopes of leaving Soldier Field and building a new stadium in the near future.

Warren was employed by the Vikings from 2005 to 2019. He became the Big Ten commissioner in 2020 after serving as the franchise's COO from 2015 to 2019.

The 59-year-old worked as an executive for that company. The Detroit Lions from 2001 to 2003 and the Louis Rams from 1997 to 2000