The New England Patriots have had many better days in franchise history, but changes had to be made to get back to the top of the mountain, and firing first-year head coach Jerod Mayo has put Patriots owner Robert Kraft over the edge.
Around this time last year, the Patriots parted ways with six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick after a trend of bad seasons.
New England Patriots Fire Jerod Mayo
Instead of doing a coaching search like most teams do when they have a head coach opening, New England turned to their 38-year-old linebacker coach Jerod Mayo, who has been in the organization as a player/coach since 2008, and made him the new head man.
Mayo, who never was a coordinator at any level, was thrown into a position he wasn’t ready for. After the Patriots’ last regular-season win against the Buffalo Bills backups on Sunday, the organization announced it would go in a different direction and relieve Mayo of his coaching duties.
Kraft purchased the Patriots in 1994, and since that transaction, he has had the best quarterback, Tom Brady, and head coach, Bill Belichick, in NFL history. Kraft had to watch Brady walk out the door to finish his career in Tampa Bay and part ways with Belichick due to poor play, but firing Mayo was the hardest decision he ever had to make.
Robert Kraft Had To Make The Hardest Decision Of His Life
During the 83-year-old owner’s press conference on Monday, he stated firing Jerod Mayo was “the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.
Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft called firing Jerod Mayo “the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 6, 2025
Mayo seems like an all-around good guy thrown into a bad situation because of Kraft’s significant relationship with him. Kraft feels horrible knowing he put him in this position to fail.
Firing Mayo was right because the team kept worsening each week, down the stretch. Although they have a nice rookie quarterback in Drake Maye, they need someone who can develop him into one of the next great quarterbacks in the league. Mayo and his offensive coaching staff couldn’t do the job.
Rumors suggest that former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, who played linebacker for the Patriots from 2001 to 2008, is interested in becoming the new head coach. That’s why Kraft fired Mayo and is now trying to hire another former player.
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