President and CEO Kevin Warren appeared on the Bears' preseason TV broadcast Saturday night in Cincinnati, joining Adam Amin, Stacey Dales and Jim Miller to discuss a variety of topics.
Warren expressed confidence that the Bears will build on last season, when they won the NFC North title and defeated the rival Packers in a wild card playoff classic.
"Everything is in place," Warren said. "We have an incredible head coach in Ben Johnson and also a fantastic general manager in Ryan Poles, and then also our staff is great. But the biggest thing is we have the support of the McCaskey family from an ownership standpoint. So, all the elements are in place; what we want to do is make sure that we're working in an integrated manner."
Quarterback Caleb Williams enjoyed a breakout 2025 season during which he rallied the Bears to seven wins in games they trailed with 2:00 remaining and set a franchise single-season passing record with 3,942 yards. But Williams isn't the only franchise's reason for optimism.
"We've got some great players," Warren said. "I mean, obviously Caleb is a fantastic player, but we have a young core of players. We have some veteran players. And you see the chemistry that coach Johnson and Ryan [Poles] have built this week in Cincinnati. You see the entire group going to dinner and what's going on in the hotel. They spend time with each other. They have fun. They work hard. They're talented. We've been blessed with an outstanding group of players."
Warren lauded Bears fans, who support their team both at home at Soldier Field and on the road all over the country.
"They're the best fans in all of sports, so we are definitely blessed to have incredible fans," Warren said. "They're knowledgeable. They know football. They're passionate. That's one of the reasons why we do what we do is to create that environment from a fan experience [standpoint]. Our fans are at the center of all of our decisions."
Bears fans — especially kids—had fun at last weekend's season-opening win over the Browns. The game was the Bears x Peanuts game, featuring appearances by Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Peanuts activations throughout Soldier Field.
"It's known that basically by the time kids are seven years old, they're starting to decide who they want to cheer for, and it has been said by seven years old, 17% of those kids already have identified their team; by 13 years old, 40%," Warren said. "So, we're trying to grow our fan base, deliver an incredible product on the field, work hand-in-hand with the community and just build a world-class stadium to show our fans that we care about them."
Speaking of the new stadium, Warren reiterated that it remains top of mind.
"The key, all we have to do is keep working like we're doing, and to make sure that we take our time, put the fan at the center of all of our decisions and build a world-class building," he said. "Because at the end of the day, that's what we need to do. Our fans deserve a fixed-roof building, to be able to enjoy it. Not only sporting events, but concerts and other events: bid for the Super Bowl, Final Four. And that's one of the things we're grateful for is the support of the McCaskey family, the National Football League. And we will build a world-class stadium that our fans will enjoy, and also that our players will enjoy playing in."
