AFC Notes: Mark Davis, Andy Reid, Kadarius Toney, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

Broncos QB Ben DiNucci explained why he chose to Denver’s practice squad versus signing with another team’s active roster.

“There was a point in the season where another team had tried to claim me,’’ DiNucci said, via PFT. “I didn’t necessarily want to go. I didn’t necessarily want to be jumping around during the middle of the season. For quarterbacks, it’s tough. This is my first year [with the Broncos]. I want to be in the system and learn. I had a lot invested in this place.”

• Broncos HC Sean Payton said he was still upset about an offensive offsides call that wiped away a touchdown when he was spotted yelling at QB Russell Wilson on the sideline. He added: “What I talk with Russell about is none of your business.” (Andrew Mason)

Chiefs

Chiefs HC Andy Reid was asked if he had any plans to bench WR Kadarius Toney following his mistakes in recent weeks, with Reid telling reporters he isn’t out on Toney as he is a young player who is still prone to making mistakes. 

“We’ll see how things go. I’m not down on Toney,” Reid said in his press conference. “He does some good things, man, so we’ve just got to keep — he’s a young guy, so we’re not talking about somebody that has been in this league a long time.”

Raiders

Raiders owner Mark Davis will be hiring his fifth head coach and fourth general manager since taking over the organization in 2012. Davis expressed that they must be patient when building and was focused on fixing their issues “right away” when firing Josh McDaniels. 

“I’m getting good at it,” Davis said, via Tashan Reed of The Athletic. “You got to get it right. You got to get the whole structure right so that everybody’s working together. The left hand has to know what the right hand is doing. That’s the goal: to start with getting people with passion for football and people who are unafraid to work. It’s not a 9-to-5 job; it’s an eight-days-a-week job. We’re trying to build something. I want to have patience, but I understand that when I make a mistake, I’d rather fix it. I can’t sit on it. I’ve got to fix it right away. That’s something that’s tough to do because you’ve got people with families and lives involved. That’s the hardest part of making the change, but there’s so many other people involved that rely on you to make the right decision.”

Davis said interim GM Champ Kelly has a jumpstart on the interview process for the full-time role. 

“I think the easiest way to put it is it’s an extended interview process that we’re going through right now. He’s got a jump on everybody else because he’s actually able to do the job and interact with me on a day-to-day basis. I waited until the trade deadline was over, so when Champ came in, it was more about the ability to work week to week and evaluate players and trying to make the 53rd man better than he was the week before, whether that’s finding a player on another team’s practice squad or anything like that. He’s bringing in players and trying to make our team better.”

Davis said he’s heard praise of interim HC Antonio Pierce‘s leadership and labeled him as a coach who thrives in that department. 

“Absolutely. I’ve heard. In trying to analyze all of this, I’ve kind of looked at it as there’s four types of head coaches: There’s somebody who’s an offensive guru, so to speak. There’s somebody who’s a defensive guru, so to speak. And then you’ve got the special teams guy, like a (Baltimore Ravens coach) John Harbaugh, who’s kind of got a little bit of both sides and has dealt with all the players. And then there’s the leadership kind of guy; he’s got experience on one side of the ball or the other, but he’s not considered the expert on this or that. He can put a staff around him and be a leader. And so there’s four different kinds of ways to look at it. And if I were to put Antonio as one of those groupings right now, I’d put him into the leadership role.”