The 2024 NFL season might only be headed into Week 8, but plenty of head coaches appear to be in the hot seat with their teams, which unfortunately includes the Patriots' Jerod Mayo. Despite a promising start to his tenure this past offseason, which saw several players openly support their new head coach, things have swiftly gone downhill since they won their season opener.
The Patriots have since lost six straight games, including two with Drake Maye under center, and the team continues to take hits as the days pass by. Whether it be from the latest rumor coming out of Foxboro or another player taking to social media to air out their grievances, the Mayo era is not going nearly as well as anyone hoped for.
Because of that, it's prompted calls for his mid-season firing, despite not many believing Robert Kraft would actually do such a thing, and having many of his staff hires join him.
It doesn't seem like something Kraft would consider after all the high praise he has given Mayo since hiring him, even more so since revealing he decided he would succeed Bill Belichick five years ago.
But that is allegedly not the case behind the scenes, according to the latest rumor from Boston Sports Journal's Greg Bedard.
Jerod Mayo might be fighting for his job with the Patriots for the rest of the 2024 season
With plenty of takes being shared regarding Mayo's fitness as the Patriots head coach, it was only a matter of time before we heard about alleged chatter about how the higher-ups were feeling about his tenure so far.
That led Bedard to reveal that some had "second guesses" throughout the summer and that Mayo's return in 2025 isn't guaranteed.
.@GregABedard on #Patriots HC Jerod Mayo:
— New England Sports Fellow (@NESportsFellow) October 22, 2024
There were questions going on around the building about whether this was the right thing for the program….I don’t think Jerod Mayo is assured of a second season if this is a complete dumpster fire.”
(🎥: @FelgerAndMazz) pic.twitter.com/uWgb7Dg4SD
Although it's not entirely shocking to hear, given how poorly the season has gone, it is a bit surprising because of the relationship between Kraft and Mayo to this point. The owner has raved about the potential Mayo had to be a head coach in the NFL, and his natural ability to lead when they drafted him in 2008 made it easy to see him with a future career on the sidelines.
Kraft has continued that same sentiment over the past nine months since he announced Mayo would replace Belichick and hasn't steered far from that view even after the Patriots have performed so poorly.
It's unclear what might have led them to rethink the decision to hire him over the summer, and this may be nothing more than a rumor. But it's certainly noteworthy, considering where the team is heading into Week 8.