Chicago Bears’ President Kevin Warren and GM Ryan Poles Speak with On The Block
As we take part in the celebration of Black History Month, On The Block will air two exclusive one-on-one interviews, conducted by Brandon Pope, with Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren and General Manager Ryan Poles.
Hired in 2023 and 2022 respectively, both Warren and Poles are the first men of color to hold executive positions in the 104-year-old Chicago Bears organization. “It was a rare opportunity to have access to both of these change-makers for an in-depth conversation from Halas Hall about themselves, their careers and their approach to life,” said Pope. “These two men are changing the Bears organization from the top down and forever changing the future of this storied NFL team.”
In these interviews, Warren and Poles discuss their visions and hopes for the future as well as how the past shaped their current achievements.
Warren, the former Big 10 Commissioner and first African American to hold that position, credits an accident he had when he was 11 to contributing to his outlook on life. It’s why the most significant number in his life became ‘1440.’ “It’s the number of minutes in a day…” he explained. “Every one of us in this room, that’s the only thing that we hopefully will have today is 1440 and so the reason why I’m reminded of that is every minute matters.”
Poles, a former Bears rookie who was cut from the team before playing in the pre-season, came to Chicago after 13 seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. He explains that his passion for the sport came from his father and two uncles, who played college football at Boston College and University of Tennessee. “When you grow up watching the highlight tapes of your uncles and your dad breaking out old tapes of himself, then you kind of see it’s in your DNA and it takes over from there,” he remarked.
Watch these two history-making interviews on On The Block, beginning with Poles’ interview next week, Thursday, February 8, at 7P on The U and Saturday, February 10, at 10A on CW26. Then, stay tuned the following week for Warren’s interview, Thursday, February 15, at 7P on The U and Saturday, February 17, at 10A on CW26.
