Kevin Warren Just Made His First Major Change To Bears Power Structure
Kevin Warren took over as team president in January of 2023. He didn’t make any changes to the organization at the time. He wanted to take some time to get the lay of the land, meet everybody in the building, and decide where some restructuring might be needed. The general feeling was Warren would desire to bring in some of his own people at some point. That process appears to have started. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported that longtime general counsel and chief contract negotiator Cliff Stein is out.
Considering how well-regarded Stein has been inside Halas Hall for over two decades, the only explanation is that Warren plans to shake things up.
“The team is parting ways with Cliff Stein, a senior vice president and general counsel, after nearly 22 years with the franchise.
On one hand, the news comes as a surprise given that Stein always has been highly regarded within the organization — and the league. On the other, there have been rumblings for months that President/CEO Kevin Warren might have major changes in mind after being on the job for nearly a full year.”
It will be interesting to see how this development impacts the Bears’ contract negotiation situation. They need to get an extension done with cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Stein’s departure means somebody else will be taking over that responsibility. Warren is a qualified businessman with plenty of connections. It is more than likely he already has a replacement in mind.
Stein is probably only the beginning for Kevin Warren.
A safe assumption about what else may happen is that everybody who was hired by previous president Ted Phillips is likely in trouble. There might be cases where some make good impressions on Warren or the McCaskeys wish to keep around, but there is no doubt an overhaul of some kind is underway. Since he decided not to do anything with the football operations, it’s a fair assumption he has the green light to reshape the business side however he wants. It was the primary reason he was hired, after all.
Don’t be surprised if he brings people in who might have previous experience with dealing with new stadium developments. Kevin Warren stated his belief that a resolution on a new location would come in the next couple of months. That gives him a window to reshape the team operations into something more modernized. Warren is known for being a forward-thinker. He likely will make some adjustments the Bears haven’t ever seen before. It will be educational to watch develop.