Not long ago, wearing the No. 51 jersey, Jerod Mayo was a budding young inside linebacker who combined impressive physical skills and heady knowledge of the game to become a leader in the middle of the New England defense.
Now, Mayo is a first-year inside linebackers coach who's spent the summer calling in the defensive plays to a heady, talented inside linebacker who just so happens to be wearing that No. 51 jersey.
Seeing second-year linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley wearing No. 51 certainly brings back memories of the former All-Pro's career helping run the Patriots defense, although Mayo actually pooh-poohs the visual similarities and athletic comparison. But not for the reason you might think.
"He's bigger than I was. He's faster than I was and quicker than I was," Mayo says with a smile. "So I wish I could sit here and compare myself to Bent, but he definitely has potential to be a good player."
Settling in nicely in his first season as a coach, Mayo is clearly being humble. He was, after all, the 10th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft out of Tennessee. He notched 100-plus tackles in each of his first five NFL seasons, leading the league with a career-best 175 in 2010, his All-Pro season.
Before injuries derailed his career, Mayo was big, strong and fast to the point that some thought he was the heir to Ray Lewis as the best linebacker in the AFC.
Bentley is trying to prove a similar skill set. A fifth-round pick out of Purdue a year ago, he actually started two of the first three games of his rookie season before landing on injured reserve.
Now that he's healthy and back in the middle of the defense, Bentley also must prove he has the head for the position, an area his new coach excelled at as a player.
Mayo knows it's a process, but believes Bentley has the mental tools to complement his impressive physical ability.
"He's a smart guy. But to your point he is as young player and he has some older guys around him that are still helping him along," Mayo said. "I'm trying to help him along as well. But any time you have a room with [Dont'a] Hightower, or Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy, smart guys, you can't help but get smarter."
In some ways the new No. 51 and the guy who brought the number to Patriots prominence barely a decade ago are learning their new roles together. Mayo admits he's more settled with his coaching role today than when training camp began, but really is just ecstatic to be back in the NFL after a short stint post-playing career in the business and media world.
"Little more comfortable. But at the same time, I'm just happy to be back in the building. Back in the building, being around the guys, doing something that I love to do," Mayo concluded.
