The Next Coach of the New England Patriots
Kraft takes his sammies with extra Mayo. Jerod Mayo has been named the next head coach of the New England Patriots in somewhat of a surprising move. Not surprising in the fact that we have been hearing Mayo’s name forever and in the wake of the Belichick news yesterday it was all but assure Mayo was the guy. No, it’s surprising in the same way we learned the news about Belichick. We knew it was coming, but it was still jarring. Because, well holy shit!
The obvious hesitation with Mayo is the inexperience. The guy has never held a coordinator position and only been coaching for 4 years period. That’s not to say he’s not qualified. He better freaking be qualified. This is as risky of a decision the Kraft’s could have made with the successor of Bill Belichick. They could have went with Mike Vrabel. That would have pacified and electrified the fan base. In theory would have steadied the ship based on his track record. If it went south, well, who’s going to blame them for picking Vrabel in that scenario?
They could have pursued the young offensive genius. The popular mold of approaches across the NFL. Again, if this went sideways the flack would be minimal because at least they took a swing at a different approach. One with a track record of success in the modern NFL. But, if Jerod is not ready or qualified the decision will look like it was made for all the wrong reasons. We’ve learned that it was written in Mayo’s contract that he would indeed be the successor to Bill Belichick. But, that plan was for after 2024 or even post 2025. Belichick would have secured the Shula record and hypothetically handed Mayo a ready made roster. That is certainly not the case with this 4-13 shit storm in Foxboro.
We have learned the neither Vrabel or Harbaugh, two of the top coaching prospects in this year’s market, were even contacted by the Patriots. You can then succomb to the idea that the decision to promote Mayo was predetermined long ago obviously, but when things went south this year the Krafts chose not to OR refused to pivot and change course to a more experienced candidate for their Head Coach. Is that because the contract language would have been too hard to get out of aka MONEY!? Or is Mayo truly the best choice in their eyes? They went to great lengths to keep him in the building two years ago. It’s clear they love him. Every account proclaims Mayo just an amazing individual on multiple levels. Business acumen, professionalism, humbleness, communication, leadership. But, can he coach? Can he make in game decisions and adjustments? He’s about to go from coaching up blitz schemes to being responsible for the entirety of a football operation. That’s a big leap.
Do I think he can do it? No idea. It’s a lot to ask. He was drafted by the Patriots in 2008. Was well respected for over a decade as a player. He understands the building, knows the area, respects the team and fanbase. He’s learned under Belichick as a player and a coach, but also has life experience in the private industry outside of football which is a major plus. He checks a lot of boxes, the biggest being the support and faith from the Kraft’s. They better just hope they are right.