AFC Notes: Chris Ballard, Jeff Saturday, Colts, Jaguars, Texans

Colts

Back when Colts owner Jim Irsay fired HC Frank Reich, he gave GM Chris Ballard a vote of confidence. At the league meetings a week or so ago, Irsay was still backing Ballard — with the caveat that it was before Saturday’s historic collapse to the Vikings. 

“I think a lot of Chris,” Irsay said via the Athletic’s Zak Keefer. “Young GMs make mistakes. He’s been up against it. The No. 1 component is he’s an outstanding talent evaluator. He has this (Bill) Polian-esque touch in the draft room. There have been some things … people don’t realize, you have to learn as a general manager. You just don’t get it overnight. I feel very confident in where we’re going.”

The collapse also reflects poorly on interim HC Jeff Saturday, who has just one win since taking over as Irsay’s surprise, handpicked successor to Reich. Saturday said after the loss he remains interested in being considered for the full-time job and Irsay told Keefer he would be in the mix, though he’d conduct a full search. 

“I think Jeff’s a candidate, but there’s a lot of great candidates out there,” Irsay said. “I think there’s a lot of great candidates in college. I think the pool needs to be broadened somewhat more. There’s some great college coaches that may be capable. There’s some unknown coaches that may be capable.”

• Keefer points out that Ballard was not in favor of hiring Saturday as interim coach, so it will be interesting to see how the search process plays out if Ballard remains in Indianapolis. He asks if Irsay will trust Ballard’s recommendations at this point. 
• Multiple league sources, albeit none with ties to the Colts, have told Keefer they are convinced Irsay will make a run at hiring Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh, who played quarterback for the Colts at one point. 

Jaguars

Jaguars HC Doug Pederson is proud of the way that his team has overcome its struggles and is in a position to make it to the playoffs.

“We need to be playing meaningful football games in December and January, and we’ve put ourselves in that position,” Pederson said, via Jaguars.com. “I’m proud of the guys for doing that. Our season could have gone sideways three, or four weeks ago, and the guys weren’t going to let that happen. I don’t get caught up in all the storylines and all that, the shoulda-coulda-wouldas. It’s just a matter of those guys in that dressing room believing in themselves and getting the job done. The guys are starting to believe in themselves, too, and that’s important down the stretch.”

Texans

The Texans found themselves in the lead against the Chiefs on Sunday but couldn’t overcome their mistakes, including a fumble by QB Davis Mills, and wound up losing the game.

“Yeah, it was tough,” Mills said, via Aaron Wilson of Click2Houston.com. “I figured I could pick up a couple of yards with my legs. The defender made a really good play, punched it out and it was a fumble. Obviously, got to protect the football there. The very critical situation in the game is when all you need is a field goal down in overtime and after the defense made a big-time stop to get them off the field and get us the ball back. So disappointed, but I thought our guys fought hard and put us in the situation to win the game, offense, defense, and special teams. We just have to find a way to finish it. It’s always the guy who you don’t see who is going to make a play on it. I just have to protect the football better.”

Texans LT Laremy Tunsil weighed in on the team still only having one win this season.

“I don’t know at this point, man,” Tunsil said. “We had so many games come down to the wire like this and we didn’t finish. It gets tough. For sure, emotional.”