Bears News: Warren on head coach search, updates latest on new stadium plans |
CHICAGO - President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kevin Warren is one of the many people who will be part of Chicago’s search for a new head coach.
Given the limited head coaching jobs available in the NFL, Warren believes this will be a highly coveted job during the offseason. He also stated that the Bears will hire a world-class coach, whoever it may be. “This will be a coveted job. We have so much going for us. We have incredible ownership. We have the best fanbase in the world. We found a franchise quarterback. We have salary cap space. We have draft capital. We live in a world-class city. We just have a lot of attributes going for us. So, I’m confident that if we do our job from a process standpoint, which we will, and sit down and be open and honest that people will look at this as a great opportunity,” Warren said. “We will hire a world-class coach whether it’s Thomas Brown or someone who currently does not work in our organization. We will get this right and I’m looking forward to it. I’m so excited about being able to start these interviews, I haven’t been able to sleep the last couple of nights.” Warren has been involved in a head coach search before. During his time with the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota hired multiple head coaches, including Mike Zimmer, who led the Vikings to the playoffs three times during his eight years as head coach. Warren learned from his time with Minnesota the importance of keeping one's options open and not making up one's mind too soon. “One attribute is to go into the search without your mind made up. I think that’s the thing that I learned the most. You need to go into these searches wide open and to be able to look at it just from a global standpoint (is) having a standard. What are we looking for? There takes a certain kind of person, and I say this lovingly with all respect, this is a phenomenal franchise, is a historical franchise, in (an) incredible city. But, our fan base because they’re so passionate, you have to be sturdy. You have to be disciplined. You have to be strong here in Chicago. You have to basically emulate what Chicago stands for,” Warren said. “So, this job is a unique job for everyone in these leadership (positions) and so, I think the thing that I learned in Minnesota is to make sure that you go into this process with clean hands, clean eyes, no decisions and make sure you set the standard and then once it becomes clear that that person meets that standard or those persons, start to zero in and then make a determination and then once you make a determination, you got to go forward. You can’t look back.” Another key topic since Warren became the Bears' President and CEO has been building their new stadium. While it was initially set to be in Arlington Heights, Warren has shifted the focus toward the museum campus downtown, and that is where his focus remains. “Downtown still remains the focus, the museum campus. I feel that we’ve made a massive amount of momentum. I’ve been here 20 months and we’ve made great progress,” Warren said. “But, along with those lines, we own 326 acres of beautiful land in Arlington Heights. It’s a fantastic piece of property. We were able to get the memorandum of understanding done there and so optionality does exist. But, I’ll remain steadfast that the goal is to make sure that we have shovels in the ground in 2025 and I’m confident that will happen.”
