The New England Patriots are one of the rare instances where a legacy is clearly headed out the door and the organization has been afforded the freedom to groom a successor. Jerod Mayo will be the Patriots’ next head coach, even though Mike Vrabel’s departure from Tennessee temporarily caused doubt.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft appears to be a loyal man. A year ago, the team very publicly extended Mayo. During the offseason process, the defense-oriented mind was sought after for multiple different positions, including the Carolina Panthers’ head coaching job. He dodged a bullet there, but he did so by turning down every interview.
NFL World Reacts to Jerod Mayo Hire
Mayo becomes the youngest head coach in the NFL at just 37. The former Patriots linebacker is a month younger than Sean McVay, which is insane to think about considering the Rams’ coach has already won a Super Bowl and had retirement floated.
At 37, Jerod Mayo now will become the NFL’s youngest head coach, taking over a title that Sean McVay had held since being named the Rams head coach in 2017; Mayo is a month younger than McVay.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 12, 2024
Roonie Rule Be Darned
All of this became a formality after Ian Rapoport’s post on X regarding a tricky contractual detail that allowed New England to skirt the league’s hiring rules.
“Sources: Jerod Mayo is a strong candidate to replace Bill Belichick & if he is the choice, the #Patriots could simply hire him,” Rapoport wrote. “No need to go through the lengthy hiring process — they established a firm, contractual succession plan in a prior contract & communicated it to the NFL.”
Sources: Jerod Mayo is a strong candidate to replace Bill Belichick & if he is the choice, the #Patriots could simply hire him. No need to go through the lengthy hiring process — they established a firm, contractual succession plan in a prior contract & communicated it to the… pic.twitter.com/xZYUgEkUuC
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 11, 2024
Mayo has helped keep an undermanned New England defense afloat over the past few seasons.
His leadership and experience on that side of the ball kept New England inside the top 10 in defensive efficiency despite suffering a rash of injuries to important pieces.
History Made in New England
Not only is Mayo the youngest head coach in the NFL, he’s also the first Black head coach in Patriots’ history, as NFL Network reporter Judy Battista noted on X.
In addition to now being the youngest HC in the NFL, Jerod Mayo, the heir apparent since last offseason, is also the first Black HC in Patriots history. A hopeful start for the league’s diversity efforts.
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) January 12, 2024
Why is this a particular feat for the Patriots’ organization? Well, the city of Boston isn’t exactly known for being welcoming to people of color. The Harvard Political Review dove in on this topic, but we don’t even need to dig that deep.
In May 2017, Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones was berated by racist fans at Fenway Park.
“It’s different,’’ he said. “Very unfortunate. I heard there was 59 or 60 ejections tonight in the ballpark. It is what it is, right. I just go out and play baseball. It’s unfortunate that people need to resort to those type of epithets to degrade another human being. I’m trying to make a living for myself and for my family.’’
A Clear Decision
“This was always the choice,’’ Rapoport said during an NFL Network interview. “When he was a player here and I was covering him we called him Jerod Belichick just because that’s how much of a disciple he was for Bill Belichick.’’
The #Patriots will now work to hire a new GM to work with Jerod Mayo, as the organization gets a total facelift. https://t.co/lhBboLinAz
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 12, 2024
The next clear decision for the organization was to hire a general manager to go along with Mayo. Unlike Belichick, who was an all-in-one HC/GM combo, Mayo will take a back seat on the personnel side of things.
At least for now. How long that lasts, as a Belichick disciple, remains to be seen.
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Ollie Connolly, who has covered the NFL and NFL Draft for ages now, shared a post exemplifying the “it factor” Mayo has, much like DeMeco Ryans and Dan Campbell before him.
“Belichick still takes a strong lead on all things defense, but players rave about Mayo’s attention to detail and his day-to-day coaching of technique.”
It is virtually impossible to be the guy after the guy. But Jerod Mayo has the goods. Fascinating to see what he changes vs. keeps the same. Would have been a tricky transition elsewhere at this stage, so this is probably his best shot pic.twitter.com/cyzg8XUzb8
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) January 12, 2024
Congratulations All Around
Former Tennessee Volunteers cornerback and close personal friend to Mayo, Inky Johnson, offered his congratulations to the newly minted head coach.
I’m so excited for my brother and best friend Jerod Mayo being hired as The New England Patriots head coach. I can’t wait to see what God has in store. All respect to Coach Belichick and the foundation of greatness he’s paved. pic.twitter.com/aWmjqZ5ecR
— Inky Johnson (@inkyjohnson) January 12, 2024
Patriots beat Taylor Kyles threw up some Mayo highlights on X last night before the hire. After the hire, he discussed how beloved and respected the new head coach is within New England’s locker room.
Yesterday, Robert Kraft said the team would move quickly to fill their vacancies.
Today, Jerod Mayo officially becomes Bill Belichick’s successor. Beloved and highly respected in the locker room. https://t.co/8qdI3eNpG6
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) January 12, 2024
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