Ted Phillips Stepping Aside
The end of the Ted Phillips era is at hand.
The Bears CEO will retire at the end of this year. The retirement was confirmed by the team's website and first was reported by Dan Pompei of The Athletic. Phillips has been in place either running things or not running things—according to who was asked and when—for 39 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," Bears owner Virginia McCaskey said in a statement through the team. "We’ve been very blessed to have him."
It was through Phillips the Bears got the old Soldier Field gutted and a new one rising from the ground, and it is through him they are on the verge of getting their long-awaited new stadium in the suburbs in Arlington Heights.
Phillips has been in the role of CEO for 23 years, since after the McCaskey family kicked former team president Michael McCaskey upstairs and out of the way.
Phillips also was in charge for the hiring of a general manager for the first time since Jerry Vainisi had been fired during the Mike Ditka era. Phillips initiated the use of an outside consultant to find Jerry Angelo in 2000 as the new GM after personnel director Mark Hatley was fired. There have been three more GMs since Angelo. Phil Emery and Pace followed, and Phillips was instrumental in those hirings. He also was on the five-person board responsible for hiring current GM Ryan Poles.
Phillips joined the organization as the team controller shortly before George Halas' death in the fall of 1983 and in four years became director of finance.
After the botched hiring of Dave McGinnis as coach, Virginia McCaskey removed her son Michael from his spot as the team's third president. George Halas Jr. had been the second president after the team founder but died in 1979. The McCaskeys entrusted the role to Phillips.
Financial success has followed the Bears during Phillips' tenure—Forbes recently ranked them the fifth most valuable NFL franchise worth $5.6 billion—but success on the field has been sporadic. The Bears have made the playoffs six times since he took over as president and have won the NFC title once, but lost Super Bowl XLI. They have three playoff wins since Phillips became president in 1999, the last coming in the 2010 season.
Among the other focuses Phillips had are the expansion of the team headquarters and move of training camp back from Bourbonnais, Ill. to the larger, modern Halas Hall facility.
After the firings of coach Matt Nagy and GM Ryan Pace in January, the Bears revised their organizational hierarchy and Phillips was no longer the boss for the GM. It's a situation where the GM now answers directly to board chairman George McCaskey. Fans and media often felt Phillips had more control over player or coaching decisions than he should, but none of these accusations were ever substantiated.
At the time they announced the change, McCaskey said it was Phillips' idea to change the organizational structure.
"(Phillips) has persuaded me that, with the pending acquisition of the Arlington Park property and its evaluation as a possible future Bears stadium occupying much of his time and attention, general manager should report to me," McCaskey said. "In this modified organizational structure, general manager will continue to oversee the entire football operation, including the head coach. The GM will report to ownership."
Phillips commented on his retirement to the team's website.
"Forty seasons is a long time," Phillips told Chicagobears.com. "I'm very blessed and I love my job. But when COVID hit, it gave me time to reflect and think about what I want my future to be. I'm healthy, so there's no issue there, knock on wood. It was more just wanting to give myself the gift of time, to be able to enjoy my family and my friends.
"It's a demanding job; takes a lot of time, there's a lot of pressure. I just felt like it's time to hand the baton to somebody else."
Phillips noted the losing seasons while he has been running the show while talking to the team website.
"Winning football games is everything, and if I had one regret it's that we haven't had a consistently winning team under my tenure," Phillips said. "I know there's been a lot of good, and that's what I reflect on. But working for the family and the trust they've shown in me has been amazing."
The buzz now will be about who will succeed Phillips in a position now removed totally from the football decision-making end of it and focusing on business.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
