Broncos

• Dan Graziano of ESPN mentions that Broncos DC Vance Joseph is one of the top head coaching candidates for the upcoming cycle, despite his unsuccessful first run with the Broncos as a head coach.

Chargers

Chargers S Tony Jefferson was ejected in the fourth quarter against the Chiefs for a hit on WR Tyquan Thornton. Jefferson apologized for giving two middle fingers to the crowd as he headed to the tunnel, but has now issued an apology.

Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh didn’t like the call and said the hit was a football play. He credited his team for doing a great job of not letting their emotions get the better of them with the game on the line, with Thornton now in concussion protocol.

“I do want to apologize for the gesture I made to the Chiefs fans,” Jefferson said, via Dan Popper of The Athletic. “I was caught up in the moment. I’m much more classier than that. Kind of just blacked out a little bit. But I haven’t seen the play. I don’t really play to be a dirty player, so I always feel like I try to put myself in a position to make the plays and hits that are clean. So I have to take a look at it. I don’t necessarily think, personally, that it was that bad, but again, I’ll have to see it.”

“I saw a football play,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what I saw. I was told that was the ruling. New York saw it as an ejection, so the message to our team was, ‘Just keep playing ball. Just keep playing.’ … Our guys were playing ball, and they didn’t let that emotionally hijack us.”

• Per ESPN’s Dan Graziano, Chargers DC Jesse Minter is a strong candidate to land a head coaching job this cycle due to his background at Michigan, which saw Mike Macdonald make a successful jump to head coaching with the Seahawks.

Chiefs

• Ralph Vacchiano spoke to several anonymous sources around the league before the Chiefs’ elimination from the playoffs last night with a loss to the Chargers.
• Anonymous NFC executive: “They look tired. That’s what I think every time I see them. They seem like they’re a step slow on everything. They are making uncharacteristic mental mistakes. They have talent. The coaching is as good as it is anywhere in the league. But sometimes they look like they just woke up.”
• One AFC scout told Vacchiano: “They have the look of a mentally exhausted team right now. Assuming all the key players and coaches come back, I wouldn’t rule them out next season. They need a recharge more than a reset, I think. They could be dangerous if they come back refreshed.”
• Another AFC scout on KC: “They got so much credit for being clutch last season, but maybe everyone should have been asking, ’Why are they playing so many close games?’ All the mistakes they’re making today, they were making then. They were playing with the same fire, but they never seemed to get burned. This year it’s the same thing. They’re just getting burned.”