NEW ORLEANS From staff and wire reports

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says he has “a lot of faith,” in coach Jason Garrett and dismisses reports that he might be interested in bringing in Sean Payton next season.

The New Orleans Saints coach was suspended for the season by the NFL for his role in the bounty scandal, and the league has taken issue with a clause in his contract extension. If that matter isn’t addressed, Payton could be a coaching free agent next season.

The Saints have no comment. ESPN reports the league objected to Payton being allowed to nix the deal if general manager Mickey Loomis left the organization for any reason.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will only say “we told them what the issue was. Now it’s up to the team and Sean Payton.”

Around the League

Indianapolis: The doctor of Colts coach Chuck Pagano says his leukemia is in remission.

Dr. Larry Cripe told The Associated Press that Pagano’s white blood cell count was normal and his bone marrow showed no indication of the disease.

Earlier Monday, interim coach Bruce Arians said the Colts (5-3) hoped to have Pagano back on the sideline for their regular-season finale Dec. 30.

Kansas City: The Chiefs (1-7) made another round of sweeping changes in an attempt to lift themselves out of a season-long funk.

Coach Romeo Crennel sacked himself as defensive coordinator, and plans to spend more time with the team’s inept offense, while cornerback Stanford Routt was waived and defensive tackle Shaun Smith was signed.

Crennel had been juggling head coaching and coordinator duties since taking over on an interim basis when Todd Haley was fired last December. Gary Gibbs will take over as defensive coordinator.

Routt was one of the Chiefs’ most notable free-agent acquisitions, signing a three-year, $18 million deal to fill in after Brandon Carr left for the Dallas Cowboys.

Minnesota: Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin was using crutches the day after suffering what a badly sprained left ankle, sounding pessimistic about his ability to play this Sunday.

Coach Leslie Frazier said the Vikings were “hoping to have him,” against Detroit but that “it’s too early to tell.” Two hours later, Harvin entered the locker room and acknowledged he’s a “long shot,” to face the Lions, though he refused to rule out the possibility.

Harvin has missed only three games in his four-year career, all due to migraine headaches. He’s one of the toughest players in the league, pound for pound, but this might be too much for him to overcome.

Harvin already had a strained right hamstring, an injury that’s been bugging him for the last three-plus weeks. He sat out briefly in Sunday’s loss at Seattle because of it. Then when Harvin was brought down for a 3-yard loss on a run around the end later in the third quarter, he rolled the ankle. After writhing around on the ground for a bit and hobbling off, Harvin returned to the game once he felt a little better, but he was limping.

Then when he boarded the plane for the flight home, the pain worsened and he was no longer able to put pressure on his foot. By the morning, the swelling had increased. Tests revealed no broken bones and he doesn’t have a high sprain, which takes longer to heal, but there’s damage in three different spots around the joint.

NFL: The Baltimore Ravens’ game at the Pittsburgh Steelers will remain on Sunday night Nov. 18.

Week 11 is when flexible scheduling kicks in, allowing the NFL to move a more appealing matchup into prime time if need be. But with the rival Ravens (6-2) and Steelers (5-3) again battling for the AFC North title, NBC is keeping the game.

The League said that the Indianapolis Colts’ trip to play the New England Patriots, matching quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Tom Brady, would move from 1 to 4:25 p.m. EST on CBS that weekend.

New England: Prior to the NFL trading deadline on Thursday, which came during their bye week, the Patriots (5-3) acquired Aqib Talib from Tampa Bay despite the shutdown cornerback’s troubled past.

New England gave up a fourth-round pick in next year’s draft for Talib, who has 18 interceptions since being selected by Tampa Bay with the 20th pick in 2008 out of Kansas. The Patriots also snared a 2013 seventh-round choice in the deal, as well.

However, Talib will miss the upcoming game against Buffalo (3-5) while serving the final game of a four-game suspension he received for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

N.Y. Jets: Jets coach Rex Ryan and several of his players are among thousands of New Jersey residents still without power in their homes in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

Ryan said as the team returned from its bye week that his home in Summit has yet to get power back. He recognizes he is in the same situation as many others in the area recovering from the hurricane and its aftermath.

Ryan stressed to his players in a morning meeting that “obviously you have to take care of family, that’s first and foremost. Yourself probably second and this team third.”

Oakland: Raiders running backs Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson both have high ankle sprains that leave their status in doubt for the upcoming week.

Both players left Sunday’s 42-32 loss to Tampa Bay with the injuries. Coach Dennis Allen said that he hasn’t ruled either player out for the next game Sunday in Baltimore but the team may need to bring in another back in case they will be unable to play.

Washington: Redskins coach Mike Shanahan is putting a new spin on his comment that he’ll use the rest of the season “to see who obviously is going to be on your football team for years to come.”

A clearly agitated Shanahan said that he probably didn’t give “the perfect quote,” after the Redskins fell to 3-6 with Sunday’s 21-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers.

Shanahan had proclaimed the game a “must-win,” to stay in the playoff hunt. His postgame remarks implied that he was giving up on the postseason chase to turn the focus to player evaluation. Several players were perplexed by the coach’s remarks.

Now Shanahan is saying every game for the rest of the season will be like a playoff game.