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.

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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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5 player decisions besides QB facing the Bears, including Jaylon Johnson’s contract and Darnell Mooney’s future
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A gun used in a recent Minneapolis homicide is linked to a St. Paul killing, according to law enforcement.

Investigators learned the gun used in the shooting of a 19-year-old man outside a Target store in the Quarry shopping center on the afternoon of Jan. 15 was also involved in a New Year’s incident that killed a 23-year-old in St. Paul, according to a criminal complaint.

St. Paul police spoke to a person associated with the gun in the St. Paul shooting and he told officers he gave the gun to Barqalde Abdullahi Barqadle, who is charged in the Minneapolis homicide.

No one has been arrested in the Jan. 1 killing of Abdifatah Abdillahi, of Roseville, in St. Paul’s Hamline-Midway neighborhood.

“Evidence from our homicide scene is linked to the gun recovered in Minneapolis, but what role this gun played in our homicide is yet to be determined,” St. Paul police Sgt. Mike Ernster said this week. “There is a possibility that more than one gun was used in our homicide, but this all remains under investigation.”

Shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, a 911 caller said they “wanted a group of people removed” from a gathering at a home in the 1600 block of Van Buren Avenue, police said at the time.

While officers were on their way to the scene, more 911 calls came in saying that shots were fired at the gathering. One caller said they were with someone who had been injured and were taking the victim to the hospital. Police found Abdillahi at United Hospital, where he died.

Investigators are asking for tips.

“We know that there were many people at this home on Van Buren Avenue when the shooting occurred,” Ernster said. “We are asking for anyone who heard something, witnessed anything, captured video from inside or outside the home to call our investigators.” They can be reached at 651-266-5650.

Shooting in Minneapolis

The Hennepin County attorney’s office charged Barqadle, 20, of Columbia Heights, on Thursday with unintentional second-degree murder in the Jan. 15 killing.

Barqalde Abdullahi Barqadle (Courtesy of the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office)

Minneapolis officers responded to reports of a shooting about 3:45 p.m. in the parking lot of New Brighton Boulevard off Stinson Boulevard. A man, identified as Barqadle, waved officers over and they found a 19-year-old man on the ground who’d been shot in the chest. He later died at the hospital.

Video surveillance showed the two men fell out of a Tesla that was parked where the victim was found. Their altercation continued until the 19-year-old hunched over and fell to the ground.

Barqadle told police he was the driver and the teen “was acting crazy and playing with a gun.” He said the 19-year-old shot himself, according to the criminal complaint.

The front pocket of Barqadle’s hoodie “had been blown apart and there appeared to be a bullet hole in his jacket, suggesting that the gun was fired from inside the hoodie pocket with the bullet going through his coat and into” the victim, the complaint continued.

Barqadle’s attorney couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.

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Paul Janish described his first few months as Chicago White Sox director of player development as a hectic and exciting time.

The former big-league infielder took on the role in November after working on Rice University’s baseball staff since August 2017, including the last two seasons as the associate head coach.

He’s digging in to his responsibilities with the Sox.

“I’m glad to finally be on site (in Arizona) with a bunch of people in the same room because up to this point it’s been a lot of virtual stuff,” Janish said during a video conference last week. “With spring training right around the corner, just hitting the ground and getting in the trenches a little bit with both staff and players and becoming more familiar with everybody.”

Janish provided updates on the top three prospects in the organization, according to MLB.com — shortstop Colson Montgomery, pitcher Noah Schultz and catcher Edgar Quero — as spring training gets closer.

No. 1 prospect: Colson Montgomery

The team’s first-round pick in 2021 spent time at three levels — the Arizona Complex League White Sox, Class A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham — after a midback strain delayed his start to the 2023 season.

The 21-year-old slashed .287/.456/.484 with 14 doubles, eight home runs and 37 RBIs in 64 games. He also had three homers and 20 RBIs in 20 games during the Arizona Fall League and was the MVP of the Fall Stars Game.

“Colson’s got a bright future, there’s no question about it,” Janish said. “With regards to where he’s starting (the season), some of that’s to be determined. At the end of the day, the goal is for him to be a really good major-league player, and I think that’s going to happen.”

When it comes to Montgomery’s timeline to the majors, Janish said it’s hard to predict.

“He’s going to choose his own path with regards to production, and there’s going to have to be some decisions made on just evaluating when he’s ready to go up to stay,” Janish said. “Because with that kind of player, you really want him to get to the major leagues at a time in which he’s ready to contribute and produce and stay there for good.

“So some of that stuff is to be determined. What I do know is he’s a really good kid, and he’s excited about coming to major-league camp.”

No. 2 prospect: Noah Schultz

The Sox selected the left-hander with the No. 26 pick in the 2022 draft. Schultz, 20, went 1-2 with a 1.33 ERA during 10 starts for Class A Kannapolis last year after dealing with a forearm strain. He went on the injured list in late August with shoulder impingement.

“First of all, he’s huge,” Janish said with a laugh about the 6-foot-9 Schultz. “I had the opportunity to meet him here recently in Arizona, and from a health standpoint, I think he’s in a good place going into the season.

“There’s a strength element that’s going to continue to develop over the course of time that will help him be more consistent. But we’re really excited. He’s got all the talent in the world, and it’s just going to come down to being really intentional with his development program and making sure as he progresses that we’re not giving him too much before he’s ready for it.”

Schultz, who went to Oswego East High School, had 38 strikeouts in 27 innings in 2023 for the Cannon Ballers.

“(Noah is) a really good kid, really talented kid and he really wants to be good,” Janish said.

No. 3 prospect: Edgar Quero

The Sox acquired the switch-hitting catcher along with pitcher Ky Bush — ranked the team’s No. 9 prospect — in the July 26 trade that sent pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Los Angeles Angels.

Quero, 20, slashed .277/.366/.393 with four doubles, three home runs and 22 RBIs in 31 games with Birmingham after the trade.

Janish said Quero goes about his work “pretty intentionally.”

“The work ethic is something he’s got in him,” Janish said, “and he’s currently developing a little bit of a routine on a day-to-day basis to maintain throughout the course of a season, which we can all sympathize with.

“That position requires a lot both mentally and physically. At the end of the day, he really needs to play. He’s in a really good spot for his age, and his ability is going to give him the opportunity to play in the major leagues.

“We just want him to be at a point where he’s ready to be consistent at that level, which, at that position in particular, we all know is going to be asking a lot.”

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