AFC Notes: Maxx Crosby, Jim Harbaugh, Kliff Kingsbury, Chargers, Raiders

Chargers

• When appearing on The Herd, Chargers’ new HC Jim Harbaugh predicts Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy to be the first quarterback off the board in the 2024 NFL Draft: “His arm talent, athleticism, ‘It’ factor, winning with numbing repetition; don’t be surprised if/when he’s the number one QB off the board. That’s my prediction right now. When people get a load of JJ and how he can throw the ball, how he spins it, his athleticism, his intelligence, and talk about ‘It’ factor. He’s got it,” via Ari Meirov.
• Aaron Wilson reports that the Chargers staff is expected to include veteran assistant Mike Devlin as OL coach, Jesse Minter as DC, Greg Roman as OC, and Ryan Ficken as ST coordinator.

Raiders

It’s fair to say Raiders DE Maxx Crosby is the heartbeat of the franchise at this point — a relentless pass rusher who both plays and practices with a maniacal work ethic and embodies everything the team wants in a player. Crosby has always been talented and was known as a hard worker from Day 1, but he noted there was another level he had to take his game to with the help of former DL coaches like Brentson Buckner and Rod Marinelli. They pushed him hard and he admitted he didn’t always appreciate it. 

“But now I can be a real leader thanks to all these great coaches who pushed me,” Crosby said via the Athletic’s Vic Tafur. “I would never ask my teammates to do something I wouldn’t. They see me running with the defensive backs. They see me putting in the work and that’s important. I am trying to make them great.”

Now Crosby can pass it forward to other teammates and try and elevate their games as well, like DE Tyree Wilson who was a top-ten pick just last year. 

“You can ask Tyree … I treat him a very certain way,” Crosby chuckled. “I am hard on him. I am hard on the young guys. They need that. Because I didn’t have that when I was young. I had to get it from a coach. I had to reach out to Von Miller and Aaron Donald, and that’s where I was getting my advice from. So I take this very seriously. Whatever button I have to touch, I am going to do that.”

Raiders

• When it comes to Kliff Kingsbury not accepting the OC job in Las Vegas, the Athletic’s Vic Tafur notes the deal had not been signed but both sides viewed it as a formality and expected it to happen. The Raiders thought Kingsbury was the most creative and exciting candidate for the position.
• Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports one source told him a deal between the two sides was  “a done deal until it wasn’t.”
• He added contract negotiations hit a snag, with Kingsbury in a good spot still with his buyout from Arizona. 
• FOX Sports’ Peter Schrager adds contract negotiations unraveled over 24 hours, with Kingsbury deciding to let multiple members of the Raiders organization know he would not be joining the team.
• Raiders VP of football operations and assistant to the head coach Tom Jones is leaving Las Vegas and is likely to take a job with Titans HC Brian Callahan. (Bonsignore)