Bill Belichick may be the greatest coach in NFL history, but right now he’s having trouble finding work.

Belichick had been the front-runner in Atlanta, interviewing twice there after Arthur Smith was fired, before the Falcons hired Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris on Thursday. That leaves Belichick still looking for work with only two known openings left: Washington and Seattle.

Belichick, 71, has not interviewed with either team. He reportedly made $25 million last year and held total control over football operations with the New England Patriots.

Morris, 47, is a familiar name in Atlanta, serving as the interim head coach for the final 11 games of the 2020 season after the firing of Dan Quinn. He previously coached the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for three seasons.

After being passed over for the Falcons’ job after the 2020 season in favor of Arthur Smith, Morris moved to the Rams. He spent three seasons as defensive coordinator, including a Super Bowl championship his first year.

Smith was fired by the Falcons shortly after their final regular-season game. He went 7-10 in each of his three seasons.

Morris was just 33 years old when he got his first head coaching job with the Buccaneers in 2009. He lasted three seasons, finishing with one winning season, no playoff appearances and a record of 17-31.

During his previous time in Atlanta, Morris worked on both sides of the line as a pass game coordinator, receivers coach and secondary coach under Quinn. He was promoted to defensive coordinator ahead of the 2020 season, moving up to interim head coach after Quinn was fired following an 0-5 start.

Morris guided the Falcons to a 4-7 mark the rest of the season, leaving his career record as a head coach at 21-38. He was the first of seven candidates to interview for the full-time job that eventually went to Smith, who was offensive coordinator of the Tennessee Titans.

Morris is just the second coach in Atlanta history to get two stints as the team’s head coach. Marion Campbell held the job from 1974-76, then returned from 1987-89, failing to produce a winning season in either stint.

PANTHERS: Carolina agreed to hire Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Dave Canales as its new head coach, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Canales has informed the Buccaneers that he is taking the job, although there are details that need to be finalized before the move is announced, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Canales will be the seventh head coach since David Tepper took over as owner in 2018. He inherits a team that went 2-15 last season and does not have a first-round draft pick in 2024.

AWARDS: Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey and Dak Prescott are finalists for the Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards.

The winners will be announced Feb. 8. A panel of 50 media members completed voting before the playoffs.

Quarterbacks Josh Allen of Buffalo and Brock Purdy of San Francisco also are finalists for MVP. Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb are the other two finalists for Offensive Player of the Year.

Cleveland has finalists in four categories: Myles Garrett for Defensive Player of the Year; Kevin Stefanski for Coach of the Year; Joe Flacco for Comeback Player of the Year; and Jim Schwartz for Assistant Coach of the Year.

Houston has finalists for Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year. QB C.J. Stroud and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. were selected back-to-back with the second and third picks in the NFL draft

Cowboys edge Micah Parsons and cornerback DaRon Bland, Raiders edge Maxx Crosby and Steelers edge T.J. Watt join Garrett as finalists for Defensive Player of the Year.

Lions tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua and Falcons running back Bijan Robinson are finalists for Offensive Rookie of the Year with Stroud.

Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter, Rams defensive lineman Kobie Turner, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon join Anderson as finalists for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Houston’s DeMeco Ryans, Detroit’s Dan Campbell, San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh are finalists for Coach of the Year with Stefanski.

Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield, Rams QB Matthew Stafford, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and Bills safety Damar Hamlin join Flacco as finalists for Comeback Player of the Year.

BROWNS: Brian Johnson, fired earlier this week by Philadelphia, met with Coach Kevin Stefanski, and the team received permission from the Los Angeles Chargers to interview coordinator Kellen Moore for its offensive coordinator opening.

Stefanski fired Alex Van Pelt last week, days after a blowout loss to Houston in the wild-card round.

49ERS: Wide receiver Deebo Samuel returned to practice in a limited role, a promising sign that he might be able to play through a shoulder injury.

Samuel’s left shoulder was injured on the opening possession of Saturday’s 24-21 divisional-round win over the Packers. He did not practice Wednesday but instead was seen running sprints the length of the field under the supervision of the training staff.

BENGALS: Cincinnati promoted quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher to offensive coordinator, one day after Brian Callahan left to take the head coaching job with Tennessee.

Pitcher, 37, just finished his eighth season on Cincinnati’s staff. He spent the past four seasons as Joe Burrow’s position coach after previously serving as assistant quarterbacks coach (2019) and offensive assistant (2016-18).

JAGUARS: General Manager Trent Baalke called quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s injury-filled season “alarming.”

“Your quarterback has a throwing shoulder injury, a knee injury, an ankle injury and a concussion all in one year? That’s alarming,” Baalke said. “We’ve got to work to improve that. There’s a lot of things that contribute to that. But we do have to do a better job.”

GIANTS: The team dipped into the rival Jets’ coaching staff and hired Michael Ghobrial as special teams coordinator.

Ghobrial, 35, who just completed his third season as a special teams assistant for the Jets, replaces veteran coordinator Thomas McGaughey, who was fired the day after the Giants’ season ended at 6-11.

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