Chicago Bears announce the hiring of Shane Waldron as their new offensive coordinator

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Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles and coach Matt Eberflus are working on revamping their coaching staff.

After firing five coaches earlier this month, including offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, the Bears began the offseason seeking at least new offensive and defensive coordinators and position coaches for the quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs.

On Tuesday, the Bears officially announced the hiring of former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron as their new offensive coordinator. A deal had been reported Monday to be in the works.

“This was a very exhaustive search, but in the end I’m grateful the journey led us to Shane,” Eberflus said in a statement. “He is a great teacher and communicator with a diverse coaching background among some of the game’s most elite head coaches. I look forward to partnering with him as we build out the rest of the staff and get him started here.”

Waldron said in a statement: “I appreciate this opportunity given to me by Coach Eberflus and Ryan Pole. We can’t wait to get to work at a franchise with such a storied history and passionate fan base.”

Here’s how the offensive coordinator hiring process unfolded.

Jan. 18

The Bears are expected to interview former Arizona Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury, ESPN reported.

The rundown: Kingsbury, 44, spent this past season as a senior offensive analyst and quarterbacks coach at USC, where potential No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams played. The Bears are getting deeper into their evaluations of Williams as they determine whether to draft a quarterback with the No. 1 pick this spring. Williams threw for 3,633 yards with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions in 12 games in 2023.

In four seasons as the Cardinals coach, Kingsbury was 28-37-1. The Cardinals fired him last January following a 4-13 season after the team made the playoffs a year earlier behind quarterback Kyler Murray. Before that, Kingsbury was the head coach for six seasons at Texas Tech, where he coached quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

He also was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas A&M and Houston. Kingsbury played quarterback at Texas Tech and in the NFL, NFL Europe and CFL.

The Bears are interviewing Los Angeles Rams passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported.

The rundown: Robinson, 37, has been part of Sean McVay’s coaching staff in Los Angeles for the last five seasons and in his current role the last two years. In 2021, Robinson also served as Matthew Stafford’s quarterbacks coach as Stafford matched a career high with 41 touchdown passes and led the Rams to a Super Bowl title.

This season Robinson contributed to a passing offense that ranked in the top 10 in yards and yards per play.

Robinson was a standout quarterback at Oklahoma State and a seventh-round selection by the New England Patriots in 2010. He spent four seasons in the NFL with the Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions and Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bears have requested an interview with Philadelphia Eagles senior offensive assistant Marcus Brady, ESPN reported.

The rundown: Brady, 44, spent the 2023 season on Nick Sirianni’s Eagles staff after five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.

He worked on the same Colts coaching staff as Bears coach Matt Eberflus for four years under Frank Reich, though on the opposite side of the ball from Eberflus. With the Colts, Brady rose from assistant quarterbacks coach (2018) to quarterbacks coach (2019-20) and then to offensive coordinator (2021-22) after Sirianni left for the Eagles. The Colts offense was one of the best in the league at running the ball in 2021, but it ranked 27th in total yards per game with 311.6 in 2022.

Brady also spent nine seasons coaching in the Canadian Football League.

Jan. 17

The Bears are interviewing Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, The Athletic reported.

The rundown: Brown, 37, completed his first year as the Panthers coordinator after three seasons with the Rams, with whom he won a Super Bowl under McVay.

The Panthers struggled behind rookie quarterback Bryce Young in 2023, averaging a league-worst 265.3 yards per game. With the Rams, Brown coached running backs and then tight ends and had the title of assistant head coach in his last two seasons.

The former Georgia running back was a running backs coach in college for eight seasons, including with Wisconsin, Georgia, South Carolina and Miami, where he also was the offensive coordinator. Brown also is scheduled to interview with the Tennessee Titans for their head coaching position.

Jan. 15

The Bears interviewed former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman, NFL Network’s Peter Schrager reported.

The rundown: Roman, 51, is a longtime NFL coach who served as offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills and Ravens. Among his accomplishments is crafting the Ravens offense around dual-threat quarterback Lamar Jackson and helping Jackson to an MVP season in his second year in 2019. The Ravens had the best rushing offense in the league that year.

However, Roman and the Ravens parted after the 2022 season after the offense declined. The Ravens went from averaging 33.2 points in 2019 to 20.6 in 2022.

Jan. 12

The Bears interviewed Seahawks quarterbacks coach Greg Olson, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The rundown: Olson, 60, has been a college and NFL quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator since 1990. He has extensive experience as an NFL offensive coordinator, holding the position with the Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Oakland and Las Vegas Raiders in separate stints and Jacksonville Jaguars.

He most recently was the Seahawks quarterbacks coach in 2023 and a senior offensive assistant with the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. Olson spent the 2003 season as the Bears quarterbacks coach.

The Bears planned to interview Kentucky offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Liam Coen, CBS Sports reported.

The rundown: Coen, 38, has one season of NFL offensive coordinator experience with the Rams in 2022, though McVay called the plays. He was an assistant wide receivers coach and assistant quarterbacks coach with the Rams from 2018-20.

Beyond that, Coen has been a college quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator since 2010 at Brown, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine and most recently Kentucky in 2021 and 2023.

Jan. 11

The Bears planned to interview 49ers passing game coordinator Klint Kubiak, ESPN reported.

The rundown: Kubiak, 36, is in his first season with the 49ers under Kyle Shanahan. Before that, he was the Denver Broncos passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022 for Russell Wilson and their QBs coach from 2016-18.

Kubiak, the son of longtime NFL coach Gary Kubiak, also worked for the Minnesota Vikings as offensive coordinator in 2021 and quarterbacks coach from 2019-20, working with Kirk Cousins.

Jan. 10

The Bears requested an interview with Seahawks offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, NFL Network reported.

The rundown: Waldron, 44, was the Seahawks offensive coordinator the last three seasons, helping quarterback Geno Smith to a comeback season in 2022. Before that, he spent four seasons with the Rams as passing game coordinator, quarterbacks coach and tight ends coach under McVay.

He also served as an offensive assistant with the Patriots (2008-09) and Washington (2016) and worked in operations with the Patriots early in his career. He has coached in college, high school and the UFL.

More Bears news

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Bears GM Ryan Poles staying ‘open-minded’ as he evaluates whether to keep Justin Fields or draft a QB at No. 1
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Women’s hockey: Wisconsin stuns Gophers with goal in final seconds of regulation, then OT winner

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Gophers coach Brad Frost called it one of the flukiest goals he has ever seen. It’s also one this group of Gophers might not ever forget.

The Gophers were nine seconds away from a regulation victory in the WCHA Final Faceoff semifinals on Friday at Ridder Arena when Wisconsin’s Casey O’Brien scored off a scramble in front of the Gophers’ net to send the game into overtime.

The Badgers then skated away with a 4-3 victory when Lacey Eden beat Gophers goaltender Skylar Vetter on a backhander from the slot at 7:59 of the extra session.

No. 2 Wisconsin will meet No. 1 Ohio State, a 5-0 winner over Minnesota Duluth in Friday’s first game, in the championship game on Saturday.

The No. 5 Gophers (27-9-2) now await the news on Sunday on where they are headed for the NCAA Tournament. In the meantime, they undoubtedly will replay in their minds those final eight seconds of regulation again and again.

Frost and his staff replayed the video again and again in the locker room as the Gophers prepared for the overtime.

“The puck got below the goal line to the side of our net,” Frost said as he recounted what took place. “O’Brien tried to pass in front of the net. (Gophers center) Ella (Huber) leads with her stick, it goes off her stick and pops in the air. It goes off Skylar’s shoulder and into the net.”

The Gophers had taken a 3-2 lead at 16:16 of the third period on a power-play goal by captain Peyton Hemp. Although the Gophers ended up being outshot 42-23 in the game, it appeared they were going to be able to hang on.

“It’s a game of perseverance,” Wisconsin coach Mark Johnson said. “You’ve got 38 seconds to go in the game and a faceoff in your own end. Can you get your goalie out? We found a way to get that chance.”

Eden’s game-winning goal also came off a scramble.

“After we got that one with eight seconds left in regulation the momentum was totally on our side,” Eden said. “We were buzzing, we were knocking at the back of the net for a while going into overtime.

“Sometimes the puck ends up on your stick in the slot area. Britta (Curl) made a nice place, and it’s just get the puck to the net. You never know what’s going to happen.”

The Gophers played without No. 2 center Madison Kaiser after the midpoint of the second period after she appeared to injure her left arm after crashing into the end boards on a rush toward the Wisconsin net.

Allie Franco moved up from the fourth line to replace Kaiser on the second line, and she had a great chance to end the game six minutes into overtime, only to be stopped in tight by Badgers goaltender Ava McNaughton.

Franco skated away shaking her head and looking toward the sky.

Less than two minutes later, Eden scored the game-winner.

“We live another day and the opportunity to play for a trophy,” Johnson said.

The Gophers, who had hoped to defend their WCHA Tournament championship, will need to regroup after a heart-wrenching loss.

“Obviously, the results weren’t what we wanted when you look back and we’re eight seconds from winning the hockey game,” Frost said. “But really proud of our group.

“Man, they battled. In the end we couldn’t find a way to win it even though we had some chances. We were right there against a very, very good opponent.”

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State boys hockey: Chanhassen’s early blitz stops Cretin-Derham Hall in Class 2A semifinal

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If seedings are an accurate judge, Cretin-Derham Hall wasn’t supposed to be playing Friday night. Yet there the Raiders were in high school hockey’s grandest event.

A storm surge did them in.

Jack Christ scored twice, Gavin Uhlenkamp had three assists, and No. 2 Chanhassen halted the Raiders’ magical postseason run with a 6-1 win in a Class 2A state semifinal at Xcel Energy Center.

Kam Hendrickson made just 10 saves, only beaten by Cam Autrey off a rebound during a third-period Raiders power-play.

“We haven’t seen a team that deep and that good all year,” said Cretin Derham-Hall coach Matt Funk.

In its first tournament, the senior-heavy Storm (26-5-0) will face either top-seeded Edina or No. 5 Grand Rapids in Saturday’s 7 p.m. final. The Hornets led 4-0 after one period in the other semifinal.

“We have a lot of seniors, but we also have a lot of underclassmen that do key roles for us,” said Andy Earl, who had two assists for the Storm. “It’s truly a dream come true for everyone.”

As for the unseeded Raiders (18-11-1), they’ll play for third place with the second-best finish in the school’s six tournament appearances within reach. Cretin-Derham Hall won the 2006 title and finished fourth last year.

“Last year we got knocked out in the semis by a really good Edina team and then in the third-place game we didn’t go into it caring too much about it,” said senior goalie Leo Miller, who made 14 saves in the final two periods after replacing Owen Nelson, who had 11 saves. “… Going out on a win, hanging another banner or getting another medal is something special. Being the second-best Cretin team to come through this school in my senior year, ending on a win, there’s something to be said about that for sure.”

Seeded fifth in its section, Cretin-Derham Hall rolled off three straight upsets to reach the state tournament. The Raiders trailed 3-0 early in their Thursday quarterfinal before rallying to upset No. 3 Centennial 4-3 in double overtime.

It was déjà vu Friday. Then it got worse.

A neutral zone turnover led to the first goal for speedy Chanhassen.

Uhlenkamp, a Wisconsin commit, split a pair of Raiders defenders entering the offensive zone. Cutting across the crease, his backhand attempt was stopped by a sliding Nelson, but Christ, a Minnesota State Mankato commit, dashed in alone to easily pot the loose puck at 7:05.

Brayden Willis scored from below the left circle and, as his goal was being announced, Christ scored 24 seconds later and it was 3-0 Chanhassen.

“Even though we did it the night before, coming back from a three-goal deficit against that team and a goaltender like that would be hard to do,” Funk said.

The Storm has allowed 31 goals in its 29 games, including more than two only in a season-opening loss to Andover.

Tyler Smith deftly converted a feed from Willis to make it 4-0 with 36.3 seconds left in the opening frame, a period in which the Storm had 13 of the last 14 shots on goal.

Smith said the late goal “hyped us up a little bit,” but that the Storm had to settle down in the locker room between periods and keep playing their game.

“We just saw what Mahtomedi did to Hermantown, so it was really like gas pedal keep to the floor,” Earl said. The Zephyrs trailed by four goals early before falling 7-6 in overtime of a Class A semifinal.

Forced to the start the second period on a 5-minute penalty kill, the Cretin-Derham Hall defense largely kept Chanhassen out of Grade A scoring chance areas and Miller made four saves during the kill.

With a game yet to play, Funk knows how special a group he is coaching.

“There’s a lot of kids out there that want to be Raiders because of how these guys carry themselves. I don’t know if their parents want ’em to have the gold hair and all that stuff. These are really good kids that do the right thing, they’re great in the community, they get good grades, I think we have a team GPA of 3.77. … They’ll be defined by way more than a (state) semifinal loss.”

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Knife-wielding man injures two police officers trying to take him into custody in St. Anthony

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A man holding a knife injured two officers trying to take him into custody Friday, according to the St. Anthony Police Department.

Officers were called to an apartment complex at 2504 Silver Lane shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, the third time they had been called about a man who they believe was suffering from a mental health crisis. When the arrived, they found the man dressed in a robe and hood with a knife in his hand.

When officers tried to take him into custody in the courtyard, he tried to go for one officer’s weapon and injured two officers, one of whom had to seek treatment at a local hospital for a minor injury.

The man was taken to the hospital and held for a mental health evaluation.

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