Kevin Warren Has Reportedly Won A Big Concession From Bears Ownership

One of the persistent issues with the Chicago Bears over the past decades is their tendency to act like a small market franchise in a big market. The McCaskeys run the team as if it were still the 1960s when spending money was dangerous. That meant being extra cautious with player contracts and never shelling out resources for head coaches or general managers. It is part of why George Halas chose to coach for as long as he did. As the owner, he wasn’t required to pay another coach a hefty salary. It is also why he chose to promote from within after he retired, knowing his selections would be cheap. That mentality has never really escaped the franchise, even long after his death. That is why fans should be grateful for the arrival of Kevin Warren.

Think about this. Of all the head coaches hired by the Bears between 1982 and 2022, how many were considered the absolute hottest candidates on the market?

• Mike Ditka? Not really. He was a special teams coach at the time.
• Dave Wannstedt? He had at least won a Super Bowl the year before, but Bill Parcells was also available.
• Dick Jauron? Nope. Mike Holmgren and Brian Billick were both available.
• Lovie Smith? He was among the most proven, though Tom Coughlin was also out there.
• Marc Trestman? Please. Bruce Arians, reigning Coach of the Year, was right there.
• John Fox? Denver fired him after a 12-4 season for a reason.
• Matt Nagy? He had one year of experience as a coordinator.
• Matt Eberflus? The Bears took him over Kevin O’Connell, who’d just won a Super Bowl.

Getting the picture yet?

A candidate with a much greater profile was available in almost every instance, and the Bears passed on them. Why is it like this? The simplest answer is that the McCaskeys have always been a family that thinks small. They haven’t had the ambition to imagine on a grand scale. This is where Warren’s arrival is crucial. He is the first person high up in the organization to bring that mentality.

Warren followed by challenging those in attendance to embrace the essence of a dream chuckle by, “dreaming so big that you cause people to chuckle at your dreams,” adding: “Be relentless, work hard, be diligent, be dedicated, get a little bit better every single day, have fun along the journey, and build your own pool, whatever that is.”

Kevin Warren is a power hitter.

When he swings, he’s going for the fences. There is no sense in trying any other way. It is how he operated as Big Ten commissioner. In his brief time there, he managed to completely alter the landscape of college football forever by signing lucrative deals with USC and UCLA to bring them into the conference. This ushered in the age of the super conferences. That same mentality now runs the show at Halas Hall, and it sounds like he has every intention of going after the best candidate possible, regardless of price. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune confirmed as much.

Two sources said a plus here is Warren likely will have the green light to spend as necessary to make the right hires — and that’s plural because a head coach is only as good as his assistants.

“You hate saying the decisions are going to set the trajectory of the franchise over the next 10 to 15 to 20 years,” Warren said. “This is one that will.”

Dream big.

Kevin Warren may get the next hire wrong. There is always that possibility. However, at least this time, the Bears have somebody in charge who isn’t afraid to go after the big fish. He’s not concerned with minor financial squabbles or big personalities. His goal is simple: find a winner.