29 Feb 2024

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

Bears Q&A: Did GM Ryan Poles miss a chance at a big-name coach? How desirable are the coordinator openings?
Caleb Williams declares for the NFL draft — and the Bears, picking No. 1, ‘can’t be scared of the unknown,’ analyst says
Bears GM Ryan Poles staying ‘open-minded’ as he evaluates whether to keep Justin Fields or draft a QB at No. 1
Column: How can GM Ryan Poles fix the cycle that has plagued the Bears forever? Pick the right quarterback.
Why did Bears GM Ryan Poles decide to retain coach Matt Eberflus? ‘The stability was a big piece of it.’
5 player decisions besides QB facing the Bears, including Jaylon Johnson’s contract and Darnell Mooney’s future
Column: What the Bears can learn about turning a franchise’s fortunes from the Houston Texans
Inside the numbers: Quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love have dazzling NFL playoff debuts

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29 Feb 2024

Judge orders Trump removed from Illinois primary ballot

by | posted in: Politics | 0

An Illinois judge ruled Wednesday that former President Donald Trump’s name should be struck from the March 19 Illinois Republican primary ballot because he engaged in insurrection in the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and is disqualified from holding the office of president.

Cook County Judge Tracie Porter made her ruling based on the case law surrounding the Colorado Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision in December that removed Trump from that state’s ballot based on the “insurrection clause” of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the Colorado decision.

While Porter ruled primary votes cast for Trump should not be counted by Illinois election officials, she stayed the effect of her ruling until March 1 in anticipation of an appeal in higher state courts and a ruling from the nation’s highest court in the Colorado case.

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Porter ruled that in signing his statement of candidacy for the Illinois Republican primary ballot on Jan. 4, Trump “falsely swore” that he was “‘legally qualified’ for the office he sought because the Colorado Supreme Court had already ruled that the former president “had been found to engage in insurrection.”

Porter’s ruling came in an appeal of the Illinois State Board of Elections’ Jan. 30 decision to reject an effort to disqualify Trump from the primary ballot due to his role in the U.S. Capitol riot, which was aimed at preventing the count of Electoral College votes from the states that made Democrat Joe Biden president.

Under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, those who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution “as an officer of the United States,” shall not be able to serve in Congress or “hold any office, civil or military” if they have engaged in “insurrection or rebellion” against the Constitution.

In its 8-0 bipartisan vote, the elections board allowed Trump’s name to stay on the ballot and rejected an objection that he “knowingly” lied by signing a statement of candidacy attesting he was qualified to hold the office of the presidency.

Porter, in her ruling, found the State Board of Election’s decision that Trump was eligible for the ballot because he did not “knowingly” file a false statement of candidacy was “without basis and contrary to existing Illinois law.”

Regardless of how Porter had ruled in the case, it was expected that an appeal would be filed, with proponents of Trump’s removal from the ballot seeking to get the issue to the Illinois Supreme Court, where Democrats hold a 5-2 advantage. The Colorado case was decided on a party-line vote led by Democrats.

The Trump campaign swiftly vowed to appeal Porter’s ruling.

“Today, an activist Democrat judge in Illinois summarily overruled the state’s Board of Elections and contradicted earlier decisions from dozens of other state and federal jurisdictions,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “This is an unconstitutional ruling that we will quickly appeal. In the meantime, President Trump remains on the Illinois ballot, is dominating the polls and will Make America Great Again!”

The case to remove Trump was brought on behalf of a group of Illinois voters backed by the organization Free Speech for People, which has pushed similar legal challenges to the former president’s access to the ballot in other states on 14th Amendment grounds.

“This is a historic victory,” Ron Fein, the legal director of Free Speech For People, said in a statement. “Every court or official that has addressed the merits of Trump’s constitutional eligibility has found that he engaged in insurrection after taking the oath of office and is therefore disqualified from the presidency.”

Porter said she found the Colorado Supreme Court majority’s opinion was “well-articulated, rational and established in historic context.”

“This court shares the Colorado Supreme Court’s sentiments that (it) did not reach its conclusions lightly. This court also realizes the magnitude of this decision and its impact on the upcoming primary Illinois elections,” Porter wrote.

In her ruling, the judge said she also took into account the findings of a State Board of Elections hearing examiner, Clark Erickson, a retired Republican judge from Kankakee County, that Trump had “engaged in insurrection” based on the findings of “a legally authorized investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives.”

29 Feb 2024

At North Loop’s new Dario, handmade pasta is the star

by | posted in: All news, Society | 0

My name is Jess, and I love pasta.

Fresh noodles and dumplings are the food I’m probably most likely to overindulge in if given the chance.

It’s so hard to find really great fresh pasta, though. Stuffed pastas must be rolled thinly, and the inside ingredients must be the right consistency — not too thick or chewy, but also not too runny. And die- or hand-cut pastas must be cooked in a flash, leaving some springiness in the center.

Pasta — good, handmade pasta — is also very labor intensive.

So when I saw Dario’s menu, with 10 fresh pasta options, I was eager to see what the new North Loop restaurant from chef Joe Rolle, formerly of Borough, Il Foro and Martina, was up to.

A few girlfriends and I had tickets to a show in downtown Minneapolis recently, so I made a reservation.

The Wittkamper Studio-designed restaurant, with its retro/modern pastel pink, teal and white accents, turned out to be the perfect spot for a ladies’ night out.

We were seated close enough to see the action in the muted pink-tiled kitchen and to peep the equipment in the glass-enclosed pasta room — used by day to mix and roll out the noodles and dumplings and by night as extra seating or space for private dining.

Good cocktails are a boon to any ladies’ night, and Stephen Rowe, who worked for a decade at the now-closed Marvel Bar, has created an excellent menu of classic and not-so-classic drinks. Many of the original creations skew toward the lower-alcohol end of the spectrum, and a few of us enjoyed the slightly sweet and complex rum-based Kelly Kapowski and the floral, delicate gin-based The Gardener’s Break.

Dario’s menu, which is made for sharing, is more than just pasta — raw dishes, vegetables and main dishes are all available. We were in a time crunch so decided to start with a few vegetables, move into pasta and sample the brick chicken, sort of as an afterthought.

Marinated beets at Dario in Minneapolis’ North Loop. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Butternut squash scarpinocc at Dario in Minneapolis’ North Loop. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Beef short rib agnolotti at Dario in Minneapolis’ North Loop. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

Spicy rigatoni alla vodka at Dario in Minneapolis’ North Loop. (Jess Fleming / Pioneer Press)

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The marinated beets featured larger wedges of the root vegetable draped with pretty, thin beet ribbons and topped with some dill pickle chips and little sprigs of dill. A sauce gribiche, which featured finely chopped hard-boiled egg, tied the whole thing together.

Grilled cabbage, served piled into a little hut disguising creamy, horseradish-spiked potatoes beneath, was up next, a stick-to-your-ribs, very northern European-feeling dish. And because we are good midwesterners, we followed that with the crispy potatoes, topped with creamy melted comte cheese and sweet caramelized onions. No one complained about the extra potatoes.

And the pasta! It was as wonderful and varied and delicious as I had dared hope.

Silky spaghetti spiked with briny blue crab, mild Meyer lemon and a little kick of chili. Perfectly textured rigatoni, a bright vodka sauce nestled between the pasta’s ridges, with fennel-spiked sausage providing richness. Little envelopes of agnolotti stuffed with short rib so tender and beefy that it melted on my tongue, paired with a funky hit of gorgonzola. And my favorite, scarpinocc, stuffed with sweet butternut squash, its little dimple a genius vehicle for nutty browned butter and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

The afterthought brick chicken was also fantastic — ultra juicy with a lovely sear and a briny, nutty, browned butter-caper sauce.

We didn’t have time for dessert, but given the outstanding quality of the rest of the menu, I can guarantee that when I return, which will be soon, I’ll make time to give it a try.

Dario

Where: 323 N. Washington Ave., Minneapolis

Contact: 612-614-2560; dariorestaurant.com

Prices: First courses and vegetables, $14-$30; pastas, $23-$29; fish and meat, $26-$62

Good to know: North Loop parking can be a challenge; ride share or public transportation is a good idea. Pastas are hand-made and cannot be made gluten-free. Reservations recommended.

Small Bites are first glances — not intended as definitive reviews — of new or changed restaurants.

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29 Feb 2024

Inver Grove Heights considers moving to 4-year mayor term, but city council not fully convinced

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Inver Grove Heights is considering joining the majority of Minnesota cities by adopting a four-year mayoral term, rather than the current two-year term.

The City Council approved the first reading of the four-year term ordinance earlier this week, with all but one council member voting in favor. Before the ordinance can be adopted, it must be read and approved three separate times by the city council.

Inver Grove Heights Mayor Brenda Dietrich (Courtesy of Brenda Dietrich)

Mayor Brenda Dietrich and Councilmembers Sue Gliva, John Murphy and Tony Scales made up the ayes with Councilmember Mary T’Kach voting no.

A four-year mayoral term would match city council seats, provide more consistency for city projects, which can take years to complete, said City Administrator Kris Wilson during Monday’s presentation. A four-year term also would allow the mayor more time to settle into the role before planning for reelection.

On the other hand, with a two-year mayoral term, the majority is in the voters’ hands as every two years three of the five city council seats – mayor and two councilmembers – are up for reelection, Wilson said.

In Minnesota, 75 cities have four-year mayoral terms, according to Inver Grove Heights staff, and 27 cities have two-year terms.

Mendota Heights and West St. Paul are the only other Dakota County cities that have a two-year mayoral term, Wilson said, adding that Inver Grove Heights is the largest city in the state with a two-year term.

According to city records, a four-year mayoral term was discussed in 2010, but no action was taken. It may have been discussed informally at other times, Wilson said, but 2010 was the last time the topic was listed on a city council agenda.

Opposing council members

T’Kach expressed concern about the timeline, which, if approved, would require the ordinance to be adopted and published four weeks prior to June 4, when the election filing period closes.

Inver Grove Heights Councilmember Mary T’Kach (Courtesy of Mary T’Kach)

“It feels odd for us to be making such a big decision in the community and for the community during an election year,” T’Kach said Monday, adding that she wished it had come up last year.

Scales disagreed, saying, “As long as we hit our standard practices, our first, second and third readings without trying to squeeze them together, I don’t feel like it’s rushing.”

Murphy, who is serving as acting mayor while Dietrich is away, said Monday that he had spoken with residents about a four-year mayoral term in recent years and ”without fail, they are all supportive of a four-year term for mayor,” he said.

The city plans to inform residents about the potential change through its website, social media accounts and the spring edition of the city’s INSIGHTS newsletter, which is expected to hit mailboxes early April.

The second reading of the ordinance is scheduled for the March 18 city council meeting and the third on April 22. Both meetings will be open to the public for comment and residents are also able to submit comments to cityclerk@ighmn.gov.

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