Chargers to Fire Henning After Loss : AFC: Georgia Tech’s Ross reportedly heads list. Broncos earn bye in playoffs with a 17-14 victory.

Dan Henning’s San Diego Charger football teams have done everything, but win for Dan Henning.

He has gained the attention of his players, who worked hard to the very end in this 4-12 season, he has earned the admiration of his peers, who recognize his talent on offense, and he has General Manager Bobby Beathard’s respect for standing tall in difficult times.

But sources within the National Football League said Sunday night, after the Chargers ended the regular season with a 17-14 loss to the Denver Broncos, that Dan Henning will no longer have a job today as head coach of the Chargers after meeting with Beathard today.

“He’s a great guy, Bobby really likes him and this has been tough,” said an NFL executive, “but what can you do with that record? Bobby has to do something.”

The Chargers are expected to dismiss their entire coaching staff along with Henning, although several coaches will be recommended for rehiring to Henning’s replacement.

Henning, who compiled a 16-32 record during his three-year tenure here, signed a five-year contract with the Chargers when he was hired. The final two years, however, are not guaranteed.

Henning never mentioned his situation to his team before or after Sunday’s game, and he brushed aside questions about his future after the loss to Denver. “I’m not going to discuss that,” he said. “That’s Bobby’s business right now.”

Beathard also declined comment on his final decisions, but he said, “I’ve talked with Dan and we’re going to meet sometime (today). I’m going to go home and sleep on this and talk again to (owner Alex Spanos and his son, Dean Spanos).

“We have had several discussions. I talked to Mr. Spanos up in the (owner’s) box, and I said I would call him tonight. He’s left the decision to me. I’d rather not say anything, or comment or speculate tonight; I’d rather just wait until (today) when I meet with Dan.”

Beathard reacted angrily to an NBC-TV report Sunday that indicated he was going to fire Henning and replace him with Georgia Tech coach Bobby Ross.

“I told the coaches before the game it was absolutely erroneous information,” Beathard said. “It isn’t true. It’s not going to be anything like that.”

Ross, who turns 55 today, has a Christmas Day Aloha Bowl date with Stanford.

“Until I have formally heard from somebody that says, ‘Hey, we are offering you a job, and specifically these are the terms, I don’t pay that much attention to it,” Ross told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday. “I don’t know whether they have an interest or not. I don’t know that because I’ve been working this job.”

Ross has compiled a 30-26-1 record in his five years at Georgia Tech, including an 11-0-1 mark in 1990.

Sources within the league said Beathard has an interest in Ross, Miami Coach Dennis Erickson and San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator Mike Holmgren. The names of Washington Redskins’ defensive coordinator Richie Petitbon and Stanford Coach Dennis Green have also been linked to the Chargers.

Erickson is believed to be a leading candidate to replace Chuck Knox in Seattle, but Beathard has been known to admire Erickson’s work.

Ross, who has four years of experience in the NFL as an assistant with Kansas City, still appears to be Beathard’s top choice to become the Chargers’ ninth head coach.

Beathard’s only previous experience in hiring a head coach came in Washington in 1981. As general manager of the Redskins he dismissed Jack Pardee and replaced him with Chargers’ offensive assistant coach Joe Gibbs. Gibbs has taken the Redskins to three Super Bowls, and Washington’s favored this year to advance to a fourth Super Bowl.

The Chargers’ front office was not happy with Henning’s attention to detail. They thought players lacked practice discipline, and were concerned that the team might collapse down the stretch.

The Chargers, however, kept playing for Henning, despite starting the season with a 1-8 record. They knocked off Seattle, shocked New Orleans, and while nodding off against the New York Jets, their final four games against playoff-seeking teams were decided by a total of 16 points.

“I think change would be a setback and not a step forward,” guard David Richards said. “The only thing left for us to do is learn how to win.”

In Sunday’s game, the AFC West champion Broncos turned two turnovers into the first 10 points against the Chargers to earn the AFC’s No. 2 playoff seeding. They have a first-round bye and a home game in the divisional round.

Denver (12-4), which won its fourth game in a row, got the inside track for the bye when AFC Central champion Houston lost to the New York Giants on Saturday. Houston will play host next weekend to the New York Jets, who beat Miami to clinch the final wild-card slot.

“We came in here a little flat. I don’t know why,” Denver quarterback John Elway said. “We kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We got it done defensively. We made enough plays to win it.”