While Chargers regroup, rival Raiders whiff on head-coaching search

The Los Angeles Chargers are one of the quietest teams in the NFL right now, which is what happens when a rebuild under a head coach like Jim Harbaugh goes off without a hitch in Year 1, to the point the team faces accusations of overachieving. 

But things aren’t as quiet for a few of the Chargers’ rivals. Notably, one of those is the Las Vegas Raiders, an AFC West team that momentarily had rumblings around Tom Brady and Bill Belichick as it searches for a head coach. 

But it seems nothing so dramatic will happen for the Raiders. Coveted target Ben Johnson just joined the Chicago Bears. Aaron Glenn? He’s busy with the New York Jets, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. 

This leaves the Raiders sort of twisting in the wind. Does 73-year-old Pete Carroll take on the job? Or do the Raiders just stay internal and promote Patrick Graham? 

Either way, the Chargers have to like what they see over there as Brady and his messy ownership-broadcasting relationship continues. The AFC West is bad enough, what with the Denver Broncos on the rise with Sean Payton and the Kansas City Chiefs still contending. 

For the Chargers, the focus remains on keeping the core coaching staff together as much as possible and surging ahead with a plan that brass already described as ahead of schedule compared to last year.