Jan 1, 2017; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers fans hold up signs referencing the possible move to Los Angeles by the team during the second half of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Qualcomm Stadium. The Chiefs won 37-27. Photo Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer wasn’t thrilled with the way he deemed Chargers owner Dean Spanos fumbled the team’s departure to Los Angeles on Thursday.
“San Diego didn’t lose the Chargers. The Chargers just lost San Diego,” Faulconer said just hours after the team officially bolted after 56 seasons in the city.
Faulconer told reporters he learned of the news from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday night, but did not hear from Spanos until the team announced the move online.
Faulconer said that Spanos made a decision that he would regret, leaving behind a strong market and loyal fan base.
The Chargers plan to play at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif., in 2017 and 2018, before moving into Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s Inglewood stadium in 2019. The StubHub Center is home to Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy, and it has a capacity of 27,167.
Spanos is expected to pay the $550 million relocation fee over 10 years, rather than extend the payments beyond that for an additional $100 million.
–The Los Angeles Rams hired Sean McVay as head coach on Thursday after he impressed the organization in two separate interviews.
McVay, who turns 31 on Jan. 24, received a five-year contract. He becomes the youngest head coach in NFL history.
He will be charged with reviving the Rams’ offense after the team struggled to a 4-12 record in its first season back in Los Angeles. McVay spent the past three seasons as offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins.
–New England Patriots running back LeGarrette Blount sat out practice for the second day in a row due to illness.
Blount was seen by reporters at Gillette Stadium but did not participate on the field. The workhorse back is expected to play on Saturday (8:15 p.m. ET) as the top-seeded Patriots host the AFC South champion Houston Texans in a divisional round playoff game.
–The Baltimore Ravens hired former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Greg Roman as the team’s senior offensive assistant/tight ends coach.
Roman was fired by the Bills just two games into the 2016 season, his second with the club. The 44-year-old also spent the previous four years as the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator and two years with Stanford in 2009-10, working with Baltimore coach John Harbaugh’s brother Jim at both stops.
Baltimore also promoted Richard Angulo to assistant offensive line coach after serving as tight ends coach for the past two seasons.
–Former Texas star and NFL quarterback Vince Young pleaded no contest to a drunk-driving charge on Thursday and was sentenced to 18 months probation.
Young, 33, also was fined $300 by Travis County Judge Elisabeth Earle and ordered to complete 60 months of community service. He also is required to attend a drunk-driving class and install a device in his vehicle that won’t allow it to start if it detects alcohol on his breath.
Young had a blood-alcohol concentration level of 0.246 — more than three times the legal limit — when he was arrested on Jan. 24, 2016 in Austin.
–Charges against Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter were reduced after a district attorney’s office viewed video of Sunday’s incident outside of a bar.
Porter is still charged with disorderly conduct and public drunkenness from the incident that resulted in his arrest. Charges of aggravated assault involving a police officer, simple assault against a bouncer and resisting arrest were dropped by the Allegheny County District Attorney office.
week.
