Bears President & CEO Kevin Warren and chairman George H. McCaskey spoke with the media Tuesday morning to detail the organization's head-coaching search, provide an update on the ongoing stadium project and look ahead to the 2025 season.
Following general manager Ryan Poles' end-of-season press conference, both Warren and McCaskey expressed their excitement to begin interviewing candidates for the head-coaching position as well as their confidence in Poles' position as the "point person" on the search.
"I said it in December, and I will say it again: this will be a coveted job," Warren said. "I mean, 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. I am 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, and from a hypothetical standpoint, I am confident with the group that we have right now as Ryan leading our charge."
McCaskey added that he is excited about the "process Ryan has laid out," which includes casting a wide net of candidates, interviewing a diverse group and moving with urgency. The Bears chairman also believes the shared experiences of Poles, Warren and himself in past coaching searches, as well as the cohesion between the leaders, will lead to positive results.
"The idea is to get it right," McCaskey said. "As I said, Bears fans deserve a winner. And we're going to do everything we can. I think with Ryan's leadership and the process that he has outlined, and with guidance from Kevin, Ryan is going to make the best decision going forward.
"Ryan has the benefit of his experience. And he has the benefit of the guidance from Kevin, who has been through this process before."
Through Poles' three seasons as general manager, Warren has appreciated the GM's ability to be self-reflective, identify his areas of growth within himself and the organization and bring passion to his position.
"I trust him, and he is a hard worker, he is young, he is talented, he is curious," Warren added. "I think his greatest attribute [is] he is willing, as he did in the press conference, to raise his hand and say here are some things where he fell short. He is [harder] on himself more than anyone could be hard on him. He strives every single day to do the right thing.
I think one of the things in life I encourage Ryan and others [to do] is to be self-reflective, which has been good. I think that is one of the things I have noticed throughout the season, from the first day that we met even up to this morning ... he is reflecting on what he can do to continually be the leader that I know he is and he will continually grow to be a great leader.
"He is passionate about it. He cares. He is not here just for all the accoutrements of being a general manager in the league. He wants to win. He loves this franchise. He is passionate about the Chicago Bears, and he is going to do everything he can."
When it comes to how the Bears will harness their learnings from past experiences in coaching searches, Warren discussed the importance of having an open mind while staying true to the standards they set.
Warren added that the club is keeping the passionate Bears fanbase in mind as well as Chicago's sturdy, disciplined culture to find someone who can "emulate what Chicago stands for."
"There are certain standards we are going to have to set from discipline, accountability, hard work, vision, foresight, leadership, game management, from a coaching standpoint," Warren said. "I think we have to commit to those standards, and we have to hold each other accountable because if people start to deviate and justify a reason to go below the standard, we have to say the standard is the standard. It is not about the person. It is about the standard."
While both Warren and McCaskey are excited about the Bears' future, they also reflected on the 2024 season.
McCaskey extended his gratitude to interim head coach Thomas Brown, complimented his ability to step up when called upon throughout the season. He also thanked the loyal Bears fanbase for continuing to show support for the franchise.
"Thank you to Thomas Brown for all that he did and is doing for the Bears," McCaskey said. "He said himself he was placed in a very challenging situation – three jobs in one season – and he embraced that challenge. He said he doesn't run from them. I think it invigorated him, and he did great work on behalf of the Bears.
"Thank you to the fans. We know this has been an incredibly frustrating season with the expectations of September and the disappointments of December, and they stuck with us, and we're grateful for that. They deserve a winner, and we're going to do everything we can to give it to them."
Warren also discussed his role in continuing to elevate the organization in all aspects. While he touched on the importance of ending the 2024 season with a win in Green Bay — which highlighted the players' ability to rally together — Warren emphasized the franchise's ultimate goal is winning championships.
"I despise losing … and from anything I compete in, winning with integrity is my focus," Warren said. "So from a critical standpoint, we need to do better here, I mean collectively. And it is not 'them.' When I say 'we,' I am talking about me. Collectively. I am going to continue to pour every ounce of energy in here from a business operations standpoint, from a stadium standpoint, from a football standpoint to provide all the resources that I have access to [and] all my energy and insight to win.
"I am confident we will win here. We will win championships here. It is not going to be easy, and I know sometimes in life you have got to go down to be able to come up, but that is part of it. We are built for this. We have the support of ownership."
In tandem with the head-coaching search, the Bears' ongoing stadium project will also be a part of the club's collective success.
Warren fielded questions Tuesday regarding the status of the Bears' plan to build a new, world-class stadium along Chicago's lakefront and responded by saying: "From a stadium standpoint, we are right exactly where I thought we would be."
"Downtown still remains the focus — the museum campus," Warren shared. "I feel that we made a massive amount of momentum. Again, I have been here 20 months, and we have made great progress. But along those lines, we own 326 acres of beautiful land in Arlington Heights. It is a fantastic piece of property. We were able to get the memorandum of understanding done there. So, optionality does exist, but I will remain steadfast that the goal remains that we have shovels in the ground in 2025, and I am confident that will happen."
