Haley out as the offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh

Todd Haley spent six seasons helping turn the Pittsburgh Steelers offense into one of the most dynamic in the NFL.

All the yards and all the touchdowns weren’t enough, however, for the fiery offensive coordinator to keep his job.

The Steelers chose not to renew Haley’s contract Wednesday, three days after the AFC North champions were ushered out of the playoffs in a 45-42 divisional-round loss to Jacksonville.

“I have made the decision to not renew the contract for offensive coordinator Todd Haley,” coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. “I would like to thank Todd for his contributions to our offense the past six years, and we wish him the best in his coaching future.”

The 50-year-old Haley, whose father Dick spent two decades as Pittsburgh’s director of player personnel in the 1970s and 80s, was hired in 2012 and tasked with developing an offense around quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Though there appeared to be some tension between the two early in Haley’s tenure, the results rewrote much of the team record book.

The Steelers finished in the top seven in total offense in each of the past four seasons, including third in 2017. And Pittsburgh won three division titles and reached the playoffs in each of those seasons thanks in part to Haley’s playcalling.

Brady’s hand injured

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady did not attend a scheduled AFC championship news conference because he was meeting with the team medical staff for a right hand injury.

According to New England’s first injury report of the week, Brady was a limited participant in the practice held earlier in the day. It was the Patriots’ first practice in preparation for Sunday’s conference title game against Jacksonville.

Brady appeared on the Patriots’ weekly injury report several times during the latter half of the regular season with both an Achilles tendon and left shoulder injury.

The 40-year-old has never missed a playoff start during his 18-year career

Jets fire OC Morton

The New York Jets fired offensive coordinator John Morton after just one season, meaning the franchise will have its sixth offensive coordinator in eight years next season.

Morton replaced the retired Chan Gailey last year after two seasons in New Orleans as the Saints’ wide receivers coach.

Quarterbacks coach Jeremy Bates is a candidate to be promoted by head coach Todd Bowles. Bates served as Seattle’s offensive coordinator in 2010.

“We appreciate John’s contributions and wish him the best moving forward,” coach Todd Bowles said in a statement.

Morton’s play-calling came into question at times during an up-and-down season with the Jets.

Super Bowl refs named

Referee Gene Steratore will lead the seven-person crew of on-field game officials working the Super Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The other members of the officiating crew for the Feb. 4 game are Roy Ellison (umpire), Jerry Bergman (down judge), Byron Boston (line judge), Tom Hill (field judge), Scott Edwards (side judge) and Perry Paganelli (back judge).

The crew has 127 years of NFL officiating experience and 101 combined playoff game assignments.

Steratore entered the league in 2003 as a field judge and was promoted to referee in 2006. He has officiated 11 playoff games, including two conference championships. He was the alternate referee for the 2010 Super Bowl.

Under the NFL officiating program’s evaluation system, officials must be rated in the top tier at their position to be eligible for the Super Bowl. They must have at least five years of NFL experience and previous playoff assignments.

Paul Weidner is the replay official.