4 Patriots who are likely entering their final season with the team

Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo could be one and done

Giving up on Mayo already? Sort of. But that might not be all Mayo's fault. He is going to have issues keeping the defense as efficient as Bill Belichick did because even though the team had lost its way quite a bit since the Tom Brady era, Belichick was still a great enough defensive coach to have at least one aspect of the team be good.

Mayo was a solid defensive player in the NFL and has experience working under Belichick, but expecting anyone to take over and still be Belichick is likely too much to ask.

Mayo's team is going to struggle offensively because most rookie QBs are not successful immediately. If the defense slips a bit, which is likely, then New England could conceivably have a worse record than in 2023.

The Miami Dolphins are still solid, the Buffalo Bills are whatever they are, but the New York Jets are probably going to be better. This means New England is still last in the AFC East in a better division overall. Two of New England's four wins came within the division and they might only get one win in 2024.

Mayo might be a good coach, but he also might look like a bad one this coming season because of how the team matches up with its closest rivals. Plus, there are likely going to be some in the New England front office who believe that Mayo only got the head coaching gig because it was pre-written into his contract. There was no coaching search; Mayo was always going to be the guy.

But just because someone has a contract that says they are the next coach does not mean they have to stay in that position if they are not successful. New England is going to get better, but they may not happen until 2026. Mayo might be holding a spot that some in the organization see being held by someone else in two years. A rookie head coach in charge of a team with a bad offense with a rookie quarterback does not scream immediate success.