Raheem Morris will be getting a second chance with the Atlanta Falcons.

Multiple outlets reported Thursday that the Falcons will hire the Los Angeles Rams' defensive coordinator as their next head coach following an extensive search that included several high-profile candidates.

Morris returns to Atlanta, where he went 4-7 as the Falcons' interim head coach in 2020 after the team fired Dan Quinn after an 0-5 start. The 47-year-old spent the previous three seasons directing the Rams' defence and helped Los Angeles to a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl LVI in his first season there.

The Falcons opted not to retain Morris following the 2020 campaign and instead hired former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who went 7-10 in three straight seasons before being dismissed on Jan. 8.

Atlanta chose Morris after interviewing over a dozen candidates that included six-time Super Bowl winning coach Bill Belichick and former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who agreed to become the Los Angeles Chargers' head coach on Wednesday.

This will be Morris' second opportunity to be a permanent head coach, as he guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009-11. The Bucs went 10-6 in his second season at the helm in 2010, but slipped to a 4-12 record the following season and replaced Morris with Greg Schiano.

Morris compiled a 17-31 record in Tampa Bay and is 21-38 overall as an NFL head coach.

Following his dismissal from Tampa Bay, Morris spent three seasons as the defensive backs coach for the Washington Redskins before joining Quinn's staff in Atlanta in 2015. Morris was the wide receivers coach for the Falcons' 2016 NFC championship team that lost to Belichick's New England Patriots in the Super Bowl after infamously blowing a 28-3 lead.

Morris was part of another Super Bowl champion team when he broke into the NFL coaching ranks as a defensive assistant for the Buccaneers in 2002.

The Falcons are the sixth team to fill a head coaching vacancy this offseason, and four of those hires have been minority candidates. Morris, New England's Jerod Mayo and Antonio Pierce of the Las Vegas Raiders are all Black, while new Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales is of Mexican descent.

Two teams, the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks, are still in the process of hiring a head coach.

The Carolina Panthers have agreed to hire Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales to be their next head coach, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday.

Canales will take the reins in Carolina despite having only one year of experience as an NFL coordinator.

Canales will be the seventh head coach for the Panthers since David Tepper took over as owner of the team in 2018.

Carolina fired Frank Reich in late November after a 1-10 start in his first season as head coach and replaced him with special teams coordinator Chris Tabor, who went 1-5 down the stretch.

The Panthers’ 2-15 record was the worst in the NFL, but Carolina does not own the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft because that selection was traded to the Chicago Bears as part of the deal that saw the Panthers move up to No. 1 in last year’s draft.

Carolina took quarterback Bryce Young first overall in 2023, and he will now work with Canales after the 42-year-old helped Tampa Bay win the NFC South title and advance to the divisional round of the play-offs this season.

Canales began his NFL coaching career with the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 and remained with the club until joining Tampa Bay in February 2023.

In 2022 as Seattle’s quarterbacks coach, Canales worked with Geno Smith en route to the signal-caller winning the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield is a finalist for the award this season.

Jim Harbaugh wants to win the Super Bowl.

He can't win one coaching in the college ranks.

Harbaugh will reportedly become the next coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, leaving Michigan just over two weeks after leading his alma mater to the NCAA national championship.

The 60-year-old had his second interview with the Chargers on Wednesday and the two sides agreed to a contract, according to multiple sources.

Harbaugh, who played for the Chargers in 1999 and 2000, takes over for a Los Angeles team that fired Brandon Staley on December 15, a day after the Chargers were crushed 63-21 by the Las Vegas Raiders.

Harbaugh was one of the hottest names for a possible head coaching job after many speculated he was looking for a new challenge after achieving the highest level of success at the college ranks.

This will be his second stint coaching in the NFL after he was in charge of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011-2014. In those four seasons, he led the 49ers to three play-off berths, two conference title games and an appearance in the 2012 Super Bowl, where he lost to the Baltimore Ravens, coached by his brother, John.

The Chargers, meanwhile, have only made the play-offs three times in the last 14 seasons, and haven't won the AFC West since 2009.

Harbaugh, who spent the last eight years at Michigan, where he went 86-25, will get to coach one of the NFL's top young quarterbacks in Justin Herbert.

Herbert helped the Chargers to a 10-7 record and play-off berth in 2022, but he broke a finger on his throwing hand late this past season and the team stumbled to a 5-12 finish.

The Tennesee Titans are in the process of finalising a contract with Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan to be the team's next head coach, multiple outlets reported Monday.

Callahan will be replacing Mike Vrabel, who led the franchise to three consecutive playoff appearances from 2019-21 but was fired by owner Amy Adams Strunk on Jan. 9 following a second straight losing campaign.

The 39-year-old Callahan spent the past five seasons as the Bengals' offensive coordinator and helped Cincinnati to back-to-back appearances in the AFC championship game in 2021 and 2022. The Bengals defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 edition before losing to the Rams in Super Bowl 56.

Callahan, the son of former NFL and college head coach Bill Callahan, is also credited for assisting in developing Joe Burrow into one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks over the course of the 2020 No. 1 overall pick's four seasons in Cincinnati. 

He'll now be overseeing the progress of a new young quarterback in Tennessee, which selected Will Levis in the second round of the 2023 draft and had the rookie start nine games during Vrabel's final season.

Callahan has been an NFL assistant since 2010. He spent the first six years of his coaching career with the Denver Broncos and was on the offensive staff during that team's 2015 run to a Super Bowl title in iconic quarterback Peyton Manning's final NFL season. 

After stints as a quarterbacks coach with the Detroit Lions (2016-17) and then-Oakland Raiders (2018), Callahan joined the Bengals as part of current head coach Zac Taylor's initial staff in 2019.

Burrow emerged into an elite passer under Callahan's tutelage, as the former Heisman Trophy winner threw for a Bengals' season-record 4,611 passing yards in 2021 and set another team season best with 35 touchdown passes in 2022. Burrow's career completion rate of 68.0 per cent is the highest of any quarterback in NFL history with at least 1,500 pass attempts.

Callahan takes over a Titans team that finished last in the AFC South with a 6-11 record this past season and often struggled to move the football. Tennessee's average of 289 total yards per game ranked 28th in the NFL and it finished 27th in total points.

Three of this offseason's eight head coaching vacancies have now been filled with Callahan's hiring. The New England Patriots promoted assistant Jerod Mayo to replace the legendary Bill Belichick on Jan. 12, while the Las Vegas Raiders removed the interim tag from head coach Antonio Pierce last week. 

The Kansas City Chiefs edged past the Buffalo Bills 27-24 to reach the AFC Championship.

Bills kicker Tyler Bass had an opportunity to level the scores in the final two minutes, but his 44-yard field goal attempt missed to the right.

Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco grabbed the crucial score at the start of the fourth quarter, going in from four yards.

Travis Kelce had earlier caught two touchdown passes from Patrick Mahomes as the lead changed hands five times.

Quarterback Josh Allen ran for two touchdowns for the Bills, as well as connecting with Khalil Shakir from 13 yards.

The Chiefs will now head to the Baltimore Ravens to play in their sixth straight AFC title game.

The Detroit Lions advanced to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1991 with a 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jared Goff threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 74 yards and a score as the Lions, who have never played in a Super Bowl, set up an NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers next weekend.

Ford Field was fired up before kick-off and the atmosphere went up another notch when the first Bucs drive ended with Baker Mayfield throwing an interception into the arms of CJ Gardner-Johnson.

The two teams traded field goals before Detroit got rolling behind rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who had three straight catches of 13, two and 15 yards to get them upfield before Goff threw a nine-yard touchdown to Josh Reynolds.

Tampa Bay responded late in the half, with Mayfield hitting Mike Evans from 29 yards to get the Bucs to the two-yard line before throwing a touchdown pass to Cade Otton.

Detroit were back on top with 3:51 left in the third quarter when they went for it fourth down from a yard out, with Craig Reynolds powering through, but Tampa Bay again found a response at the end of the quarter as an off-balance Mayfield found Rachaad White with a 12-yard touchdown.

The see-saw continued as Gibbs ran in from 31 yards to put Detroit back on top and they finally broke the pattern when Tampa Bay were forced to punt and Goff hit Amon-Ra St Brown with a perfect nine-yard touchdown pass.

The Bucs were not done yet as Evans reeled in a 16-yard touchdown pass and they had the ball back inside the final two minutes, only for Mayfield to be picked off by Derrick Barnes to spark huge celebrations in Detroit.

The Detroit Lions advanced to the NFC Championship game for the first time since 1991 with a 31-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jared Goff threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns and Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 74 yards and a score as the Lions, who have never played in a Super Bowl, set up an NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers next weekend.

Ford Field was fired up before kick-off and the atmosphere went up another notch when the first Bucs drive ended with Baker Mayfield throwing an interception into the arms of CJ Gardner-Johnson.

The two teams traded field goals before Detroit got rolling behind rookie tight end Sam LaPorta, who had three straight catches of 13, two and 15 yards to get them upfield before Goff threw a nine-yard touchdown to Josh Reynolds.

Tampa Bay responded late in the half, with Mayfield hitting Mike Evans from 29 yards to get the Bucs to the two-yard line before throwing a touchdown pass to Cade Otton.

Detroit were back on top with 3:51 left in the third quarter when they went for it fourth down from a yard out, with Craig Reynolds powering through, but Tampa Bay again found a response at the end of the quarter as an off-balance Mayfield found Rachaad White with a 12-yard touchdown.

The see-saw continued as Gibbs ran in from 31 yards to put Detroit back on top and they finally broke the pattern when Tampa Bay were forced to punt and Goff hit Amon-Ra St Brown with a perfect nine-yard touchdown pass.

The Bucs were not done yet as Evans reeled in a 16-yard touchdown pass and they had the ball back inside the final two minutes, only for Mayfield to be picked off by Derrick Barnes to spark huge celebrations in Detroit.

A late Christian McCaffrey touchdown gave the San Francisco 49ers a 24-21 win over the Green Bay Packers and moved them one win from the Super Bowl.

The 49ers, the number one seeds in the NFC, had trailed 21-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

Jake Moody cut the gap with a 52-yard field goal before McCaffrey crashed his way over from six yards with 67 seconds on the clock.

Brock Purdy’s 32-yard touchdown pass to George Kittle had given the 49ers a 7-6 interval lead, the Packers responding after the break as Jordan Love threw touchdown passes to Bo Melton and Tucker Kraft either side of McCaffrey’s first score of the night.

The 49ers had not come from behind to win throughout the regular season, but Purdy drove them into position for the decisive score after rookie Anders Carlson had missed a field goal from 41 yards for Green Bay.

In the AFC, the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens saw off the Houston Texans 34-10.

Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdown passes, running for two more as the Ravens pulled away in the second half.

The two teams swapped field goals in the first quarter, Jackson finding Nelson Agholor from three yards in the second quarter before Steven Sims’ 67-yard punt return tied things up at 10-10.

Jackson eased the Ravens in front in the third quarter as he ran in on a score from 15 yards.

The Ravens pulled away in the final quarter, Jackson finding Isaiah Likely from 15 yards and going in himself from eight yards. Nick Tucker capped off the victory with a field goal from 43 yards late on.

The Ravens will host the Buffalo Bills or defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, who meet on Monday, in the AFC Championship game.

The 49ers will entertain the Detroit Lions or Tampa Bay Buccaneers to decide the NFC champions.

The Baltimore Ravens moved to within one win of the Super Bowl as they saw off the Houston Texans 34-10.

Lamar Jackson threw for two touchdown passes, running for two more as the Ravens pulled away in the second half.

The two teams swapped field goals in the first quarter, Jackson finding Nelson Agholor from three yards in the second quarter before Steven Sims’ 67-yard punt return tied things up at 10-10.

Jackson eased the Ravens in front in the third quarter as he ran in on a score from 15 yards.

The number one seeds eased away in the final quarter, Jackson finding Isaiah Likely from 15 yards and going in himself from eight yards. Nick Tucker capped off the victory with a field goal from 43 yards late on.

The Ravens will host the Buffalo Bills or defending champion Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.

The Las Vegas Raiders are close to a deal that would remove the interim tag from Antonio Pierce’s title and make him the franchise’s next head coach, multiple media outlets reported Friday.

The move to stick with Pierce comes amid a pivotal coaching carousel cycle with former Patriots legend Bill Belichick and the University of Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh representing the top prizes.

Pierce, however, went 5-4 after he replaced Josh McDaniels mid-season, and many of the Raiders’ best players – including Davante Adams, Maxx Crosby and Josh Jacobs – have publicly lobbied to keep Pierce.

Last weekend, a report surfaced that Crosby would seek a trade if Pierce wasn’t hired as the team’s full-time head coach.

“Why wouldn’t we keep going the direction we’re going?” Crosby said after the Raiders’ final game. “The fact we’ve come together and done something special in such a short time is hard to do.

“We’ve got a guy who’s played at the highest level, won a Super Bowl, he’s been a captain, and now he’s a great coach and he’s a leader.”

Pierce, 45, played nine seasons in the NFL for Washington and the New York Giants. He was a starter on the Giants team that won Super Bowl XLII, beating the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

Among Pierce’s first decisions will be whether to retain interim offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree.

The Raiders face a crossroads at quarterback after Jimmy Garoppolo’s forgettable season. Rookie Aidan O’Connell finished the season as the team’s starter and had eight touchdowns with no interceptions in his last four games.

Las Vegas will also need to decide on the future of running back Josh Jacobs, who ended last summer’s contract dispute after training camp by signing a one-year deal.

“With AP, I am definitely 100 percent in,” Jacobs told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “However it looks, whatever it looks like.”

The Raiders hold the 13th overall pick in April’s draft as they look to return to their title-winning past.

The Dallas Cowboys will not be making a change at coach after all.

The Cowboys announced on Wednesday that Mike McCarthy will return next season.

There had been speculation that McCarthy would lose his job after Sunday's stunning 48-32 wild-card loss to the Green Bay Packers, but he'll return for a fifth season - his final one under his current contract.

"I believe this team is very close and capable of achieving our ultimate goals and the best step forward for us will be with Mike McCarthy as our head coach," Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said in a statement. "There is great benefit to continuing the team's progress under Mike's leadership as our head coach."

The Cowboys rolled to their second NFC East crown in the past three years in 2023 by finishing 12-5 for the third year in a row. But this season ended like each of the previous two - with a play-off exit before the NFC conference title game.

With the latest post-season defeat, Dallas became the first team to lose to the No. 7 seed since the 14-team play-offs were implemented in 2020.

In four seasons at the helm in Dallas, McCarthy is 42-25. However, he is just 1-3 in the play-offs.

"Mike has the highest regular season winning percentage of any head coach in Cowboys history and we will dedicate ourselves, in partnership with him, to translating that into reaching our post season goals," Jones said.

Dallas hasn't made the conference title game since the 1995 season when it last won the Super Bowl.

"While we're all disappointed with the result on Sunday and with our play-off record, I am 100 percent supportive of him as our head coach and ability to reach our goals," Jones said.

Josh Allen’s three touchdown passes and a 57-yard running touchdown of his own led the Buffalo Bills to a 31-17 playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The 27-year-old quarterback threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter to tight end Dawson Knox to give the Bills an early 14-0 lead.

He then produced a scintillating run through the midfield to the end zone to make it a 21-0 lead in the second quarter and make the game seemingly out of reach for Pittsburgh.

A touchdown before half-time and another in the fourth quarter gave Pittsburgh some hope, but the dagger came in the fourth quarter when Allen found Khalil Shakir and he dodged several would-be tackles to make it a two-touchdown game with six minutes left.

The win for the Bills sets up a mouth-watering match against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC divisional round in Buffalo. The number one seed Baltimore Ravens will host the Houston Texans in the other AFC clash.

Former New England Patriots safety Duron Harmon has credited Bill Belichick with helping Tom Brady become the greatest player in NFL history, saying the legendary duo "needed each other".

Belichick and the Patriots parted ways last week, bringing an end to one of the most remarkable coaching tenures in league history.

The 71-year-old led the Patriots for 24 seasons, overseeing 18 playoff visits and taking the team to nine Super Bowls, winning six of those showpiece games with the most recent coming in 2019.

However, New England missed the playoffs in three of their last four seasons under Belichick, prompting team owner Robert Kraft to replace his long-serving coach with former linebackers coach Jerod Mayo.

Some have suggested Belichick's failure to win a Super Bowl without Brady diminishes his achievements somewhat, with the coach's overall NFL record without the quarterback standing at 85-102, but Harmon does not subscribe to that view.

"I think both those guys are motivated by one thing; being the best they can each and every day," Harmon – who played for Belichick's Patriots between 2013 and 2019 – told Stats Perform.

"Tom's job would be to be the best quarterback and rally his team. Bill's job was to be the best head coach and rally his team as well, and to make sure the coaches understand his vision so they can pass it to the players and put the best product on the field. 

"It's easy to try to put those two against each other, but I think at the end of the day, they needed each other. 

"They understand that they couldn't have accomplished what they accomplished in New England without each other.

"I think there's a great amount of respect that they have for each other. I'm still grateful and appreciative that I got to be around the greatest quarterback and the greatest head coach of all time."

Brady did manage to win one more title after he and Belichick parted ways in 2020, collecting his seventh ring by leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to glory at Super Bowl LV.

Harmon does not believe Brady was motivated by a desire to prove he could succeed without Belichick, saying: "I truly don't believe he needs any extra motivation. 

"This guy wanted to be the best player that he can be every day, whether it was with the Buccaneers, whether it was with the Patriots, he just wants to get the best out of himself every day. 

"I don't think it was, 'I want to prove I could do this without Bill', I think more so it was just him going to Tampa and doing what he does. 

"The thing that people don't realise, and I know Tom was always a great competitor, but the cultural style that came from Bill to him is what I believe gave him that extra motivation, that extra push to make Tom truly who he is. 

"As a young player, when he first took from Drew Bledsoe [in 2001], it was a very veteran-based team, so he wanted to gain the respect of not only the players, but also Bill Belichick. 

"Bill pushed him as best he could to be the best that he could be, and in the end, he became the best ever."

Having won three Super Bowls in six years in New England, Harmon is uniquely placed to offer an insight into the relationship between Belichick and Brady at the height of the Patriots' dominance.

"It was like yin and yang. It was Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson. Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson," he recalled.

"I was fortunate enough to be captain one year with the Patriots and saw how they interacted in the captains' meeting and how they were always on the same page. 

"There were times when Bill got on Tom in front of everybody, and it wasn't to demean Tom, but it was to let everybody know that there is a standard in this organisation, it doesn't matter who you are, whether you're the best player or you're the last guy on the practice squad. 

"Seeing those guys work together allowed me to see what that head coach-quarterback partnership is supposed to look like at the highest level."

Duron Harmon's defining memory of playing for Bill Belichick is not one of their three Super Bowl triumphs together, but the coach using a jar of marshmallows to motivate him in preseason. 

Belichick's remarkable 24-year stint in charge of the New England Patriots came to an end last week after he oversaw a career-worst 4-13 season in 2023, with former linebackers coach Jerod Mayo taking charge.

The 71-year-old led New England to nine Super Bowls throughout his 24 seasons at the helm, winning six of those with the most recent coming against the Los Angeles Rams at Super Bowl LIII. 

Safety Harmon was present for that triumph, as well as wins at Super Bowls XLIX and LI, as a regular fixture in a dominant Patriots side led by legendary quarterback Tom Brady.

Harmon remembers his time under Belichick fondly, but it is the coach's personable side, rather than his tactical acumen, which stood out most prominently. 

Asked for his defining memory of Belichick while speaking to Stats Perform, Harmon said: "It's crazy. It's not even a football field memory. It was a training camp. I can't remember what year it was. It had to be 2016.

"We still had Logan [Ryan], it was me, Logan, Devin [McCourty], and I think at the time we were all maybe dealing with something, like little injuries. I don't think we were practicing. 

"Bill came up to us. Logan, Dev, and I were stretching. I look up and he says, 'you Rutgers guys, you know what? You guys are soft like marshmallows'.

"We're like, 'what are you talking about?' He was like, 'not even practicing'. He goes on his spiel. 

"The next day, when we go into the meeting room, there's three big jars of marshmallows at our seats. We just start dying, laughing, because a lot of people don't see that side of Bill, but for us, that's the side that we've seen all the time.

"Then that preseason game against the Panthers, all three of us got interceptions and he came up to us at the end of the game and said, 'maybe I need to put marshmallows by your seats weekly'. 

"His great coaching style that I really appreciated was one thing, but having memories like that, where we can have a personable connection, will always go a long way for me."

Harmon believes Belichick's incredible work ethic is the secret to his success, saying: "When we won the Super Bowls, he let himself loose a little bit. I will tell you that. That's when you see him really just take a step back and enjoy it.

"I've been very privileged to be in this league for 11 years, and I can honestly say I've never been around anybody who works as hard as him each day. 

"That is the reason why the Patriots organisation has been successful for as long as it has been. He believes that if you want to have a championship team, there has to be a standard of excellence no matter what you're doing."

The consistency Belichick instilled in the Patriots was perhaps his most impressive accomplishment, with the team enjoying 19 consecutive winning seasons from 2001 to 2019.

Harmon hailed his ability to motivate players to go again, saying: "When we came back after winning the Super Bowl, he'd let us know that it's over, we don't talk about previous years.

"There were even times when he wouldn't let us wear the Super Bowl gear that we got in the building anymore, because he wanted us to realise this is a new year. 

"He does a tremendous job of letting us know we've got to put that year to bed. Now it's time to get working on the new one. Everybody buys in, because we know what happens when we do."

Bill Belichick's exploits with the New England Patriots will never be replicated and mark him out as the best coach in NFL history, according to the team's former safety Duron Harmon.

Last week, team owner Robert Kraft announced the end of Belichick's remarkable 24-year stint in charge of the Patriots, who he led to six Super Bowl titles – the most of any coach in the league's history.  

Belichick led New England to 18 playoff trips after taking charge in 2000, but the team missed the postseason in three of his final four campaigns at the helm. 

Their 4-13 record throughout the 2023 season was their worst under Belichick, whose last playoff win came back in 2019 as the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams at Super Bowl LIII.

Despite a less-than-stellar end to his distinguished run in New England, Harmon – who won three Super Bowls throughout a six-year stint with the team between 2013 and 2019 – says Belichick's place in the history books is secure.

Asked what Belichick's Patriots legacy amounted to, Harmon told Stats Perform: "In my opinion, he's just the best coach who ever graced the NFL. 

"What he was able to accomplish over those 20-plus years as a Patriots coach, we've never seen it before. It will never be duplicated. 

"He set the standard extremely high for when people try to talk about dynasties. I'm just forever grateful that he chose me to be a part of his team and to be a part of his legacy."

While Belichick will turn 72 in April, it has been suggested that he may stay in the league as he chases down Don Shula's all-time record of 347 wins (regular season and playoffs), a tally he is currently 14 shy of.

The Los Angeles Chargers have been touted as a potential destination for Belichick, but Harmon cannot see the Patriots legend coaching elsewhere.

"I just can't see it," he said. "He and Tom Brady are the Patriots. They're what the Patriots stand for, to do your job, hard-nosed gritty football, those two together built the Patriots organisation. 

"So to see him go somewhere else... me personally, I can't see it, but the beauty about sports is you just never know. In due time, we will figure out whether he'll be somewhere else."

For the Patriots, attention quickly turned to the search for Belichick's successor, and 37-year-old former linebackers coach Jerod Mayo became the league's youngest head coach when his promotion was made official on Friday.

Having shared a locker room with Mayo throughout his first three seasons with the Patriots, Harmon believes he has all the attributes required to be a success. 

"My time there with him… he's a tremendous, tremendous leader. A leader of men, an intelligent person," Harmon said of Mayo.

"Most people say he's just a smart football player, but he's just an intelligent person. Straight out of retirement, he went and worked for a company, a big Fortune 500 company. 

"It shows who he is as a person and as a leader, that as soon as he gets done playing, somebody wants to hire him to lead this division of their company. 

"If I had to put my hat on or give my blessing to anybody, it would be Jerod Mayo."

Aaron Jones and Jordan Love starred as the Green Bay Packers upset the Dallas Cowboys 48-32 in the first round of playoffs.

Quarterback Love threw for three touchdowns and 272 yards in his playoff debut, while running back Jones scored three touchdowns as he ran for 118 yards.

The Packers jumped out to a 27-point lead to silence the Dallas crowd as Jones grabbed a first quarter touchdown and they added three more in the second quarter, including a 64-yard intercept from Darnell Savage.

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott was intercepted twice as he passed for three touchdowns and 403 yards, but three more touchdowns in the second half sealed the game for Green Bay.

The Cowboys made a late surge with two touchdowns to tight end Jake Ferguson but the Packers’ lead was insurmountable.

They will head to face the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers in the NFC divisional round.