(670 The Score) Bears president Ted Phillips will retire after the 2022 season, the organization announced Friday.
Phillips, 65, has been the Bears’ president/CEO for the past 23 years and has spent four decades with the organization.
“I have been truly blessed with the honor of working for the Chicago Bears for 40 seasons and look forward to leading the team through the 2022 season," Phillips said in a statement. "I appreciate the support of the McCaskey family and to be involved in overseeing this amazing growth of the Chicago Bears through the years is a dream come true. Every day has been a true pleasure and being surrounded by so many talented and wonderful people has made my job richly rewarding on many levels. I will always bleed blue and orange and forever be proud to be a part of the Chicago Bears family.”
Phillips plans to step aside next February. The Bears have already begun the search for his successor, the team said.
Phillips indicated to the Athletic that he did a great deal of self-reflection during the pandemic and thought deeply about what lies ahead.
“When COVID came, it changed a lot of dynamics and gave me some time to reflect on my life, my work life,” Phillips told the Athletic. “I came to the conclusion that, my gosh, almost 40 years is a long time. It’s time to hand over the baton and give myself the gift of time. You know how this business can be, a lot of hours and time away from family. I just turned 65 years old. I feel good. My health is good. I felt it was time to slow down and do whatever I want to do.”
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Phillips assumed his current position in 1999. In the 23 seasons since, the Bears have been inconsistent on the field. They won five division titles and reached the playoffs six times in Phillips' tenure, including when they advanced to the Super Bowl in the 2006 season.
Off the field, Phillips was credited with revitalizing the Bears' business operations and oversaw a series of successful big projects. He played a big role in the Soldier Field renovation in 2003 and also oversaw the transformation of Halas Hall in Lake Forest into a state-of-the-art facility.
“It’s difficult to put into words how much Ted has meant to the Bears and our family," chairman George McCaskey said in a statement. "The faith that Virginia and Ed McCaskey placed in him by naming him president and CEO of the Bears has been rewarded many times over. He’s the best boss I ever had, and when I became his boss, he handled it graciously, as he has so many other situations. He is held in high regard by his peers around the league and deservedly so. We are lucky to have had him here as long as we did.”
Phillips has recently been instrumental in spearheading the Bears’ potential move out of Soldier Field and to Arlington Heights, where they hope to build a state-of-the-art stadium. The Bears have signed a purchase agreement for the Arlington International Racecourse property. At a community meeting next Thursday, they plan to unveil details about how the stadium would be an anchor for a larger, mixed-use development that would be one of the largest projects in the history of the state.
The Bears are making progress in their hope to build a new stadium, but many details still need to be worked out before they close on the property.
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