As a linebacker, Jerod Mayo made a living sacking quarterbacks and handcuffing running backs.
As a head coach, Mayo simply wasn't ready for the bright lights, and the result had him getting sacked by the franchise which he spent his entire career playing for.
Barely an hour after the Patriots' putrid 2024 season ended with a 23-16 win over the Buffalo Bills in a glorified preseason game, the team announced that Mayo had been fired. ESPN first reported the news, and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt might be on his way out, too.
As a human being, you have to feel for Mayo, but the Patriots made the right decision.
Is it questionable to fire a coach with a flawed roster after just one season? Sure. But guys like Bill Parcells and Chuck Knoll who like Mayo struggled to dismal first seasons with cupboards that were bare had the experience that Mayo does not.
The Patriots have their quarterback of the future in Drake Maye on a cheap contract. They'll have the most salary cap space in the NFL heading into free agency with a roster that clearly needs restructuring. The Krafts clearly weren't happy with the way things were going and they made the right decision.
The decision to fire Jerod Mayo shouldn't have been a hard one for Robert Kraft
After the team parted ways with Bill Belichick last season, the Patriots didn't bother conducting a search. Mayo was the "coach in waiting" after impressing the Krafts on a trip to Israel in 2019. The organization did everything backward right from the start, and as a result, the Patriots are looking for their third coach in three years.
Mike Vrabel, another former Patriot, will be a prime candidate, along with Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
There was zero accountability in Mayo's locker room. The "Patriot Way" that Belichick had built was essentially eradicated. Players were complaining about fans booing in the media (if you don't want to get booed, just win). The wide receiver room was a mess and clearly needs a reboot. Javon Baker, who famously said in training camp he "makes people in wheelchairs stand up," finished the season with one catch. Do you think Belichick would've taken kindly to that kind of behavior?
Mayo was dealt a bad hand with this roster. There's no doubt about that. He did the best he could. But at the end of the day, the Patriots haven't won a playoff game since Super Bowl LIII. They're 8-26 over the last two years. In Boston, that's unacceptable. Keeping Mayo would've only kept Maye's development stuck in neutral.
The Kraft family cannot afford to screw this next hire up. They already did the right thing in moving on from Mayo. Now it's time to completely clean house.