Ted Phillips talks Chicago Bears future and retirement

As the Chicago Bears introduced Kevin Warren as the team’s new President and CEO, the transition process from Ted Phillips to the new regime is still happening. Phillips, who was a part of the search for his replacement, announced his retirement in September, and after 23 years in his position, he shared some retrospective thoughts with the media after Warren’s introductory press conference on Tuesday.

Chicago Bears president talks about his time with the team, the future of the organization, and retirement

Phillips, who will be moving on from the Bears officially sometime in April, stated “I’ve been the President and CEO for 23 plus years, and I feel that I’m going to leave the Bears in a better place than where I started, and with that, I’m happy to turn over the baton to Kevin… and I’ll be glad to continue that transition afterward if it takes time because I owe a lot to the McCaskey family”.

When asked if he has any regrets about his tenure with the Chicago Bears, the executive responded by saying that “I haven’t had much time to reflect but one thing, and I think George [McCaskey] alluded to it, is the on-the-field success hasn’t been there. That’s been a disappointment, not a regret… Other than that I feel pretty good about leaving the Bears in a better place than I started”.

When asked about why the on-field product struggled during his tenure in Chicago, Phillips pointedly responded with “well … we’ve had 45 different quarterbacks I think since we won the Super Bowl, so that’s probably number one”.

However, there seems to be no love lost between Phillips and the organization, as he stated that “I’ll have mixed feelings [in retirement]. I’ll be cheering for the Bears on the field, off the field. At the same time, I know I had a small part to play, and I know that I’ve left a lot of great employees who are going to carry the torch along with Kevin, and hopefully make it happen wherever we are, whatever we do. I think the future of the Bears is in good hands”.

Phillips expressed hope for the Chicago Bears moving forward, as he will still clearly be rooting for his former team in retirement, and touched on the bright future ahead, stating that “hopefully [Fields] will keep growing the way he grew leaps and bounds this year. If he can keep growing, he can definitely be the quarterback we’re looking for, and I know Matt [Eberflus] and Ryan [Poles] are excited about the offseason getting started with [Fields] right away”.

Finally, when asked what he will miss the most as an executive for the Bears, Philips quickly answered with “the people, the relationships I’ve built… but I’m looking forward to getting my time back”.