Throughout most of Jerod Mayo's tenure with the Patriots, there was consistent speculation surrounding his job security beyond the 2024 season. Questions arose early on, especially since many felt Robert Kraft promoted him before he was ready, and it only worsened as the season progressed.
With losses piling up and the team appearing to regress, even looking worse than they did during the last season under Bill Belichick, it seemed inevitable that Mayo would not be retained for another year.
Some felt that wasn't entirely fair, given his unfavorable circumstances, including a questionable roster. However, reports since he was fired suggest there was a lot of chaos behind the scenes that led to Robert Kraft's decision, most of which had no chance of being salvaged.
But that might not be the whole story, at least according to the Boston Herald's Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed. The reporters published a lengthy piece sharing behind-the-scenes details of Mayo's lone season, including Kraft's final chance for the head coach to remain on staff for 2025.
Jerod Mayo had a chance to change his fate with the Patriots at the end of the season
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the timeline of when Kraft decided it was time to let Mayo go. When asked about it, he claimed he began to feel he might have made the wrong choice about a month before the season ended, and as the weeks passed, it only confirmed his suspicions.
Sources who spoke to Callahan and Kyed seem to confirm that Kraft was willing to reconsider had the games against the Cardinals and/or Chargers gone differently. But the back-to-back blowout losses sealed Mayo's fate.
“A source familiar with Kraft’s thinking believes had the Patriots flipped one of their December blowout losses to Arizona and later the Chargers, Mayo might have kept his job.”
Considering what Kraft shared with reporters and what he allegedly told players behind the scenes about promoting Mayo, it seems unlikely that he would have decided to keep him on for one more year, as the issues during his tenure appeared to be deeper than the team's failed on-field performance.
But it is interesting to consider an alternate reality where New England heads into the 2025 offseason with Mayo still on board and the differences the regime could have made compared to how they navigated last year's free agency and draft. We'll never know it, but it might be better that way.