AP

The Chargers are planning to hire a new general manager before they move on to finding their next head coach and they should reach the end of that process in the next few days.

That was the message from team president Dean Spanos, who said that the team’s road trip to interview candidates over the last few days has left them close to making a decision about who will take over the job vacated by A.J. Smith.

“The process is winding down. As you know, we’ve been on the road the last few days and just returned to San Diego,” Spanos said, via the team’s website. “It was a productive trip as we were able to meet with a number of people in a short period of time. Hopefully we can make a decision within the next day or two.”

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the team’s current director of player personnel Jimmy Raye and Colts vice president of football operations Tom Telesco are considered the top two candidates for the job. Acee also reports that Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is “at or near” their list of coaching candidates whether or not Telesco winds up getting the G.M. post.