Charger Notebook : McCallum Could Join Team Within 2 Weeks, Says Spanos

Charger owner Alex Spanos confirmed reports late Monday that former Raider running back Napoleon McCallum might be released from the U.S. Navy and could be in a Charger uniform in less than two weeks.

“We’ll know more on this in a week to 10 days,” Spanos said from Chicago, where he is attending the National Football League owners’ meetings. “We know he’s working hard to fill certain requirements that would allow him to join us this week.”

McCallum, who was acquired from the Raiders earlier this month, is under obligation to the Navy through December of 1989. Which means unless the Navy releases him from that obligation, he wouldn’t play for the Chargers until 1990.

Steve Ortmayer, Charger director of football operations, said last week that he didn’t know whether the recent Navy decision on basketball player David Robinson would affect McCallum’s status. The Navy ruled Robinson won’t play for the San Antonio Spurs in the 1988-89 season.

Spanos would not say where he received his information about McCallum.

Spanos also said that he was “very disappointed” with the Chargers midway through the season. But, he added, “I have to believe we will improve.”

Asked if he is satisfied with his coaching, Spanos said: “We have 8 games to play. As far as I can see, they are working hard and doing the best they can. I’m behind them 100%.”

But “a lot can happen between now and the end of the season,” he said.

The crowd of 37,722 at Sunday’s 16-0 loss to the Colts was the smallest at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium since Spanos purchased the team from Gene Klein in 1984. “You can’t play the way we played in that game and expect the fans,” Spanos said. “I can understand their frustration with the team because I feel the same way.”

The smoke finally cleared Monday from the Chargers’ 16-0 Sunday loss to the Colts. The smoke also cleared at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium from the 9-vehicle fire that started in the parking lot when some poor fan tucked a hibachi grill under the gas tank of his car.

But the Chargers were still 2-6, having lost 12 of their last 14 regular-season games.

“We’ve done everything emotionally I think that you can do, running the gamut from encouragement and support to being very vocal and very verbal and being very demonstrative,” Coach Al Saunders said. “Our effort has not been lacking. The performance level has been. We’ve been outmanned on the field by our opponents on a 1- to 45-player basis. There’s no question about that.”

Defensive coordinator Ron Lynn begged off requests to give his unit midseason grade cards. Just a day earlier, the defense had surrendered a season-high 453 yards.

But asked if the Chargers have the defensive talent to win, he said: “I don’t know that we do and I don’t know that we don’t.”

“We’re always looking to get better talent,” Lynn said. “And we’re always looking to get to the point where we can feel that we have dominant personnel. Right now I don’t think we’re dominant enough to be a dominant defense.”

The Chargers rank last in the conference in takeaways (interceptions or fumble recoveries) with 13 and second to last in AFC sacks with 12.