It hasn’t even been 24 hours since the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick agreed to mutually part ways, and the Patriots have already filled their head coach opening.
According to multiple reports, the Patriots are hiring former linebacker Jerod Mayo to be their next head coach.
At his afternoon press conference on Thursday, Patriots owner Robert Kraft acknowledged that the Patriots will be moving quickly to find a new head coach. Earlier in the day, ESPN reported the Patriots would be looking for a head coach before they hire a general manager.
“We will try to move very quickly to solve those issues, and we’ll have a chance to talk about that in the very near future,” Kraft said on Thursday.
On Thursday night, NFL Network insider Ian Rappoport reported defensive coach Jerod Mayo is a strong candidate to replace Belichick. He added that if Robert Kraft wanted to hire the 37-year-old coach, they could do so at any moment. The Patriots wouldn’t have to go through the long process of hiring a new coach but could fill their opening quickly. This is because the Patriots made a contractual succession plan in Mayo’s contract that he signed last year. This type of move isn’t unprecedented, as Rapoport said the Colts followed a similar approach hiring Jim Caldwell.
When asked about what type of candidate the Patriots are looking for when hiring their next head coach, Kraft readdircited his previous statements about getting back to the playoffs.
“We’re looking for someone who can help us get back to the playoffs and win,” Kraft said. “Believe me, after my family, this is really one of the two most important assets in my life. And I am very upset when we don’t win games and it carries the whole week.
At the end of the 2022 season, Jerod Mayo was getting interest from around the league, but instead, the Patriots put out a rare press release explaining the team had signed Mayo to a long-term extension.
Now, Mayo is the head coach with plenty of questions to be answered.
My name is Ben Belford-Peltzman and I am the creator and writer of The Patriots Beat. I am a 17-year kid who is an optimistic pessimist about the City of Champions. I started The Patriots Beat in August of 2022 and never expected to grow so much but here we are. Feel free to email Thepatriotsbeat@gmail.com with any inquires.
