The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Rams’ Brown hired away by Panthers
The Carolina Panthers added the last major piece of Frank Reich’s coaching staff, hiring the Rams’ Thomas Brown as offensive coordinator on Friday.
The team has now filled its three coordinator positions.
After deciding not to retain last year’s interim coach, Steve Wilks, who is Black, the Panthers have hired two Black coordinators in Brown and Ejiro Evero, who will coach the defense.
Brown, 36, was an assistant head coach/tight ends coach for the Rams last year under Sean Mcvay. He’s spent the last three seasons in Los Angeles and was the team’s assistant head coach/running backs coach when the Rams won the Super Bowl two years ago.
• Running back Aaron Jones agreed to remain with the Green Bay Packers on a restructured deal with a reduced salary for the upcoming season.
Drew Rosenhaus, Jones’ agent, said Jones will make $11 million in 2023 — including an $8.52 million signing bonus — rather than the $16 million he had been projected to make. Jones confirmed his return to Green Bay by tweeting, “Year 7 is Gonna be crazy in Lambeau. Honored to carry the G and blessed to be back.”
Rosenhaus noted the $11million salary will increase Jones’ total pay since 2021 to $31 million, the most for any running back other than San Francisco’s Christian Mccaffrey during that stretch.
Jones, 28, rushed for a career-high 1,121 yards on 213 carries and caught 59 passes for 395 yards last season as part of a runningback tandem with 2020 second-round pick A.J. Dillon. Jones scored seven touchdowns — five receiving and two rushing.
He also was the Packers’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which recognizes players for community service off the field as well as achievements on the field
• Eric Bieniemy agreed to a deal to leave the Kansas City Chiefs to become the offensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders, according to multiple sources.
The new role reportedly comes with the additional title of assistant head coach, a pay raise and a multiyear contract. Bieniemy, a Bishop Amat High graduate and former UCLA running backs coach, will replace Scott Turner, who was fired at the end of the season.
Bieniemy spent the past five seasons as the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator, where he helped Patrick Mahomes blossom into a twotime MVP and five-time Pro Bowler. He also helped guide Kansas City to three Super Bowl appearances and two victories, most recently a 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
Despite his success, Bieniemy wasn’t hired to be a head coach even after his two Chiefs predecessors — Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy — both earned top jobs following their respective tenures under Andy
Reid. Bieniemy has interviewed with half of the leagues’ clubs since 2019, including a 2023 interview with the Indianapolis Colts. But every time, he was passed over.
• Free-agent quarterback Derek Carr is meeting with the New York Jets this weekend, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Carr, 31, who spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Raiders, was released by Las Vegas on Tuesday after he declined to waive the notrade clause in his contract. Las Vegas needed to trade or release him by Wednesday or $40.4 million of his contract over the next two years would have become fully guaranteed.
The Jets are looking for a veteran quarterback to lead their offense after Zach Wilson struggled mightily after being the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft. Carr is a potential replacement and New York is bringing him in for a visit, multiple sources reported.
• After the New England Patriots’ season came to an end last month, Matt Slater said he’d given everything he had during his 15 years in the NFL.
But for now, retirement can wait.
The Patriots announced that the 37-year-old son of Hall of Famer Jackie Slater and two-time All-pro out of Servite High School and UCLA has decided to return for his 16th season in 2023.
The longest-tenured player on the 2022 roster, he has appeared in 222 games and is second only to Tom Brady in games played for the Patriots.
Last season Slater finished with 13 special teams tackles.
HORSE RACING Judge affirms Baffert’s Churchill Downs ban
A federal judge denied Bob Baffert’s request to lift his two-year suspension by Churchill Downs Inc., ruling that the Hall of Fame trainer did not prove its discipline hurt his business and reputation.
Baffert will miss his second consecutive Kentucky Derby, and per a Churchill Downs rule, he has until Feb. 28 to transfer his Derby-eligible horses to other trainers in order for them to possibly run in the May 6 race.
Baffert last year transferred Taiba and Messier to former assistant Tim Yakteen for the Derby. Taiba finished 12th and Messier was 15th among 20 horses.
Baffert had sued Churchill Downs following his banishment in June 2021 after a failed postrace drug test by now-deceased colt Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first in the 147th Derby. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission ultimately disqualified the colt in February 2022 and suspended Baffert for 90 days for a series of failed tests by his horses.
Baffert argued that Churchill Downs did not give him notice nor explain the suspension. His attorney, Clark Brewster, contended earlier this month that the historic track was subject to state guidelines for due process. U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ultimately rejected that argument and said that, as privately owned company, Churchill Downs can set its own disciplinary policies.
While Baffert is banned from the first of the Triple Crown races, he’s eligible to run horses in Maryland at the Preakness and in New York at the Belmont Stakes. His one-year suspension by the New York Racing Association expired in January.
SKIING Odermatt wins second worlds gold in France
Marco Odermatt won the men’s giant slalom to become the first Swiss skier in 36 years to earn two gold medals at the same world championships.
Odermatt’s victory came five days after he was the surprise winner of the downhill in Courchevel, France.
He matched Pirmin Zurbriggen, who won the super-g and downhill at his home world championships in Crans-montana in 1987.
“Another perfect day for me,” said Odermatt, who had not won a medal in his eight previous world championship races, after winning five junior world titles in 2018.
Odermatt, who is the Olympic giant slalom champion, was second after the opening run but beat Swiss teammate Loic Meillard by 0.32 seconds.
• American skier Paula Moltzan will miss the slalom race at the world championships today after breaking her left hand again.
Moltzan was injured while helping the United States win the gold medal in the team event on Tuesday, having already competed for most of last season with the same hand broken — in a different place.
Having sat out the individual parallel race, Moltzan competed in the giant slalom on Thursday with her pole taped to her glove but went out in the first run after getting spun around.
MISCELLANY Center for Safesport CEO suspended
The former interim CEO of the U.S. Center for Safesport was temporarily suspended by the center he used to run for failure to report a case.
The center posted the suspension for Regis Becker earlier this week. It also included a charge of abuse of process. Becker served as a member of the center’s board of directors when it opened in 2017, then took over as interim CEO and ran the organization for about six months at the start of 2019.
The center’s disciplinary database had “probation” and “education” listed under the “additional details” column regarding Becker’s case. It said his case was subject to appeal and not yet final.
Becker did not respond to a text sent by The Associated Press to a cell phone listed under his name.
Center spokesman Dan Hill said the center would not comment on the case specifically.