The New England Patriots have officially fired Jerod Mayo after one season. NFL insider Adam Schefter had stated the organization was “leaning” towards firing Mayo, and that has officially happened.
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Patriots fired HC Jerod Mayo, league sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/rZUOOoKmVC
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 5, 2025
Mayo went 4-13 in his first season as a head coach and has now been relieved of his duties. There had been some rumblings that Mayo might have been given a second season to see if he could rebound the team, but that will not be the case.
To be fair, Mayo took over the Patriots, who were a mess coming into 2024. The team had drafted Mac Jones in the first round of the 2021 playoffs but did not end up being the franchise quarterback the team had hoped for.
Since then, New England has struggled to keep and retain star players since Bill Belichick ended his legendary run with the team. The Patriots did not look anything like a competitor in 2024, and Mayo will not presumably search for his next position with an NFL team.
Mayo was elevated to the position of head coach after serving as the team’s linebackers coach from the 2019 to 2023 seasons. The move was a head-scratcher for many considering he had not held any higher position in the NFL, such as being a coordinator.
Being promoted to a head coach from a lower role than a coordinator is not out of the realm of possibility, but it doesn’t happen very often. The issue is Mayo was all but set up to fail.
Losing Belichick put the team into a full rebuild, as he acted as the head coach and general manager. The Patriots chose to hire Eliot Wolf as the executive vice president of player personnel, though he was never named as a “general manager.” Either way, he also entered a situation that was less than desirable.
The good news is the Patriots enter the 2024 season with a far better outlook. They have a potential franchise quarterback in Drake Maye, $131 million in cap space (according to overthecap.com), and a top-four pick in the draft.
Maye is the right piece to build around, and he was finally given the chance to show what he could do following Week 9. The Patriots should have allowed Maye to play from the start, which could be a big reason why Mayo was let go.
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Maye did end up getting some valuable reps and is the right quarterback for the Patriots to build around. Now, they will need to revamp a lot of positions with free agency and the upcoming draft.
For now, they will do all this with a new head coach. Mike Vrabel is currently interviewing for positions and could be a solid option for the Patriots moving forward.
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