The New England Patriots may have gone into the season expecting to be a bad team, but the degree to which they have struggled has helped the fanbase turn on former Pro Bowl linebacker and current head coach Jerod Mayo.
Outside of No. 3 pick Drake Maye looking good enough to build around in 2025 and beyond, there hasn't been much to write home about. The Patriots' recent embarrassment at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals has turned the heat up on Mayo in his first year after the coach.
The Patriots don't seem to be in the business of getting rid of their head coach after one season. Mayo was unable to make lemonade out of lemons, but Robert Kraft still believes he can get this thing turned around.
According to Adam Schefter in an appearance on Get Up, the Patriots are planning to keep Mayo as their head coach. There are three games left in the season, and things can change, but the Patriots are willing to give Mayo another shot with a better roster next year.
Patriots leaning towards keeping Jerod Mayo as head coach in 2025
Mayo has gone just 3-11 this season, and he has not helped himself with multiple foot-in-mouth moments during press conferences. Getting blown out is never a good sign, especially against competition that should not be boat-racing New England in this fashion. However, he may have been set up to fail a bit.
This roster has no high-end wide receivers, perhaps the worst starting offensive line in the league, and a pass rush that has almost no teeth to it. Maye and Christian Gonzalez are great finds, but what coach would have the Patriots performing at a much better level right now when the overall talent pool is so thin?
No matter what you think of Mayo or his assistants, 2025 will be the year to decide on his quality as a coach. With New England scheduled to have nine figures in cap space and Maye entering the year as QB1, Kraft can finally see how he coaches when given a roster that can actually compete with some of the better teams in the league.
Mayo may not look like Bill Walsh right now, but dozens of great coaches from both today and yesteryear started off with poor records after taking over rebuilding teams. 2025 might be a bit kinder to him.