AFC Notes: Chargers, Colts, Raiders, Steelers

February 7, 2018

Chargers

Bruce Feldman of SI.com reports that the Chargers are set to hire former UCLA assistant Rip Scherer as their tight ends coach.

Colts

Colts GM Chris Ballard explained during a press conference on Wednesday they were “disappointed and surprised” by Josh McDaniels decision to back out of the agreement to be their next head coach. However, he’s still “very confident” moving forward.

“With Josh backing out, we were disappointed, unquestionably: We were disappointed and surprised. We’d agreed to contract terms. We had an agreement in place. We followed all the rules, did everything right. Two interviews, both of them went very well,” Ballard said, via Pro Football Talk. “Very confident we were going in the right direction, very confident Monday evening and into Tuesday morning.”

Ballard said he received a call from McDaniels Tuesday evening that he would be accepting the job.

“I got a call Tuesday evening saying he had changed his mind and was going in a different direction,” Ballard said. “At that point I informed our owner, we informed you all of where we were going, and we’ll keep moving forward.”

Ballard said that none of the initial interviews are still in the mix, which means Kris Richard and Matt Rhule are out. (Tom Pelissero)
Regarding QB Andrew Luck, Ballard said: “At this point we feel very strongly that Andrew Luck is in a good place. We don’t believe he needs surgery … we’re very confident he’s going to prove people wrong.” (Zak Keefer)
Ballard confirmed that they will keep the assistant coaches that they hired as part of McDaniels’ staff: “We will not abandon them. They’re good coaches, good people and good developers of men.” (Mike Garafolo)
Ballard finished the session on Wednesday by saying: “The rivalry is back on.”

Raiders

The City of Henderson in Nevada announced that they have approved of the sale of 55 acres of land near the Henderson Executive Airport to house the Raiders’ practice facility and corporate headquarters.

Steelers

Steelers DBs coach Carnell Lake announced Wednesday that he’s leaving the team to spend time with his family.
According to Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers are signing Blaine Stewart as an offensive assistant.
Stewart is the son of former WVU coach Bill Stewart, who passed away in 2012. He is a former wide receiver for James Madison University and recently completed his MBA at the University of Charleston.