NEW YORK — Change is uncomfortable.

John Harbaugh’s delay in signing his Giants contract, which dragged deep into Friday, was a reminder that hiring him will come with a price.

Not just a price in years and money. But a price in creating necessary but uncomfortable change to how the Giants have done things for a long time.

Harbaugh, 63, ...Read more

SEATTLE — Home field is an advantage only if you make it matter.

It didn’t matter for the Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, home teams that tumbled in the wild-card round. It didn’t matter in nearly half (46.3%) of all NFL regular-season games this season, either.

Heck, does it matter in an era where rising...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Samson Nacua took a vehicle that didn't belong to him without permission.

But he didn't mean to.

That's what the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Dept. determined after investigating the events that led to the arrest of Nacua and another man, Trey Rose, for allegedly stealing an SUV belonging to Lakers rookie Adou Thiero early Dec....Read more

Los Angeles Times NFL writer Sam Farmer examines the matchups and makes his predictions for the NFL divisional playoffs.

All lines and over/under numbers are according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Last week, Farmer posted a 2-4 (.333) record. He has a 173-99 (.636) record over the regular season and playoffs.

Using point spreads with the scores ...Read more

Our 34th season of NFL picks in the Miami Herald hit the postseason with mixed results, only 3-3 straight-up but a solid 4-2 against the betting line — including a pair of dogs-with-points covers by the victorious 49ers and in a loss by the Panthers. Six games down in the Super Bowl tournament and seven still to go, with the AFC and NFC ...Read more

The NFL coaching carousel is in full swing.

With Mike Tomlin and John Harbaugh departing the Steelers and Ravens, respectively, after being the longest-tenured coaches in the league, it’s a particularly active hiring cycle. Harbaugh appears to be the first domino to fall, reportedly finalizing a deal with the New York Giants after ...Read more

CHICAGO — With Soldier Field shaking ever so slightly during Saturday’s miraculous comeback in the wild-card round against the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears can say with confidence the fourth phase is back.

That’s the term former coach Lovie Smith used about 20 years ago when urging the home crowd to be rowdy (just not when the ...Read more

DENVER — Thomas Payton worked in insurance. Casualty claims, specifically. Because of that, Sean Payton said his father raised him with as little danger as possible.

The Paytons had no trampoline, growing up in Naperville, Ill. No swimming pool. No motorcycle. Thomas Payton’s kid knew every possible sharp corner that existed in their home. ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The main topics at the end-of-year press conference at the NovaCare Complex Thursday afternoon were mainly centered around why Kevin Patullo was no longer the offensive coordinator of the Eagles, what Nick Sirianni and Howie Roseman wanted in his replacement, and what the next evolution of the team’s offense might be.

But ...Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Fred Warner’s comeback is on hold — for a week or, perhaps, until next season.

Warner was officially ruled out Thursday from the 49ers’ divisional-round visit to the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night, three months after his right ankle fracture.

When coach Kyle Shanahan announced Tuesday that Warner was cleared ...Read more

There is a specific kind of insanity reserved for playoff games between two teams from the same division. It is a distinct flavor of madness, separate but amplified by the usual January anxiety.

These teams do not just play each other; they live together: they share the same atmospheric rivers, the same East Coast apathy toward everything in ...Read more

NEW YORK — The Giants scored their biggest win in years by landing their No. 1 target:

John Harbaugh is expected to be New York’s next head coach.

Harbaugh, 63, agreed late Wednesday night to coach the Giants, and the two parties were working Thursday to finalize an agreement to make it official, a source told the New York Daily News.

The...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Thursday spoke publicly for the first time since tearing knee ligaments in the team’s mid-December loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dallas-based orthopedic surgeon Daniel E. Cooper performed surgery the evening after the ACL and LCL injury, and Mahomes has already ...Read more

CHICAGO — After a Chicago Bears victory, fans across the city keep hitting refresh on their social media feeds. It usually takes an hour or so for the Bears’ social media team to prepare the video, bleeping out the swear words and whatnot.

When coach Ben Johnson’s postgame speech hits social media, it’s a must-watch. Johnson’s victory...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The worst kind of mob is the one that is displacing its aggression. Then again, maybe every mob is that kind of mob. The more unhinged the vitriol, the more concentrated its direction, the more likely it is driven by fears and frustrations that are much more difficult to reconcile than the ones that have bubbled to the surface. ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — He played 12 seasons in the NFC North before he was traded to the Rams, so quarterback Matthew Stafford is no stranger to cold-weather games.

On Sunday night, when the Rams play the Chicago Bears in an NFC divisional-round at Soldier Field, game-time temperatures could include a wind-chill below zero degrees.

Stafford, citing ...Read more

BALTIMORE — “I have the power.”

As Ravens’ owner Steve Bisciotti explained Lamar Jackson’s involvement in the coaching search Tuesday, he drew a clear line, one that will help shape the franchise’s next phase as it attempts to replace 18-year head coach John Harbaugh. The two-time NFL Most Valuable Player will have input, and the ...Read more

Fred Warner is back on the 49ers’ practice field and looked energetic during the media viewing portion Wednesday, though he was listed as a limited participant in the session.

The 49ers opened his 21-day practice window on Tuesday, allowing him to rejoin drills with his teammates and let the 49ers track his progress back from fracturing and ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — It may be a pie-in-the-sky hope, but if former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel doesn’t land one of the head coaching jobs — Browns, Titans, Falcons or Ravens, so far — he’s interviewing for, he could have interest in becoming the Buccaneers offensive coordinator.

McDaniel, 42, is scheduled to interview with head coach ...Read more

CHICAGO — Caleb Williams not only kept the Chicago Bears’ playoff run alive with a fourth-quarter, fourth-down completion to Rome Odunze, he created a viral moment: the Jumpman pass.

A quick back story: During the Bears’ 31-27 come-from-behind win Saturday in a wild-card-round game against the archrival Green Bay Packers, the Bears faced ...Read more