Chicago Bears president Ted Phillips to retire at end of 2022 season
The Chicago Bears have had a special president for the last 40 years, Ted Phillips, but there is always a time to say goodbye.
The Chicago Bears announced Friday that their president Ted Phillips is retiring at the end of the 2022 season, after 40 years with the franchise.
“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. 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,” Phillips said in a statement. “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 has been involved with the Bears since before becoming the team’s president and CEO in 1999. He was vice president for six years, director of finance for another six, and the team’s controller for four years.
“He started out with us as a financial expert. Anything that he was ever asked to take care of, he came through and did it very well. We’ve been very blessed to have him,” said Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey in a statement.
Phillips helped administer the hiring of four general managers during his time as team president and CEO, starting with Jerry Angelo in 2001, to Phil Emery in 2012, Ryan Pace in 2015, and Ryan Poles in 2022.
Ted Phillips has been a gift to the Bears
“It’s difficult to put into words how much Ted has meant to the Bears and our family. 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,” said Bears Chairman George H. McCaskey. “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.”
A search for a new president is underway.