1 – Usually when an NFL team hires a new head coach it brings an immediate if-temporary level of excitement to that fan base, one that likely has been living through losing ways and days of late.
But usually that new coach isn’t replacing arguably the greatest head coach in football history for a team with dynastic standards and expectations that are no longer realistic.
So it’s understandable that there may be some trepidation in Patriot Nation as Jerod Mayo ascends to become the 15th head coach in New England history. And based on a very unofficial sampling of sports talk radio callers, Twitter and conversations around town, Mayo isn’t exactly feeling the love and support from fans as he takes over for Bill Belichick.
Mayo will meet with the collected New England media this Wednesday at an introductory press conference at noon at Gillette Stadium. But, before his first comments as head coach, he gave a teaser talk on what he’ll bring to the Patriots in his final video conference with reporters of the regular season.
Yes, the entirety of the 37-year-old Mayo’s NFL life came working under Belichick, initially as a first-round linebacker for eight seasons and then five years as an assistant coach. Belichick would seem to be all he’d know in terms of life in the NFL and life coaching. But Mayo, who was often referred to as Bill Jr. during his playing days, sounds nothing like his now-former boss.
“From a coach’s perspective our job is to put a mirror in front of your face and really show what you are doing on the field and hopefully you can take that out of love. That’s the way I coach. That’s the way a lot of us here coach, we coach out of love,” Mayo said. “So once you build that relationship with a guy you can be tough on the players. But if you don’t have that…I always talk about warmth before competence. It was a little different back when I played. Whatever the coach told you to do, you just go out and do it. This generation is a little bit different where they really want to have accountability, they really want to understand the why. And my job is to go out there and tell them what I see.”
A new generation of Patriots coach for a new generation of players. Mayo is a new, young voice with youthful, modern ideas on how to build a football culture, even if he’s only been surrounded by old-school, time-tested philosophies in his time under Belichick in New England.
“Just being able to talk to different people,” Mayo said of his perspective as a young former player-turned-coach. “I think I’ve talked about this before as far as diversity is concerned. Most people think of diversity just black and white. But there is generational diversity. There is diversity of thought. And all those are welcomed, at least to me. I want to build an environment like that where there is a sense of psychological safety that people don’t feel handcuffed to give their opinion.
“I feel like I’m prepared. I feel like I am ready. I feel like I can talk to men, women, old, young, white, black it doesn’t matter. And hopefully develop those people into upstanding citizens and help them evolve.
That’s kind of how I think about it. I feel like my calling is to develop. And I would also say the role of a head coach is way different than the role of a coordinator. The role of a coordinator is way different than the role of a position coach. So I look forward to the opportunity wherever that may be.”
The opportunity is in New England. It’s is now.
And Mayo at least deserves a honeymoon period of time usually afforded a new head coach to do things his way and prove what he brings to the Patriots. Even if he is fighting an uphill battle to replace a legend in place where expectations are probably still higher than they should be.
2 – Much has been made by media and fans alike that New England didn’t interview any other candidates for the head coaching role, rather sticking with a previously installed plan to go with Mayo as the successor to Belichick. While it’s understandable that some prefer the experience that Mike Vrabel could have brought to the job or desired the team to at least look into offensive-minded options, some credit should be given for targeting and sticking with Mayo. Back in the wake of the 2021 draft some criticized the team for staying put at No. 15 in the first round and allowing Mac Jones to simply fall into their lap as the fifth quarterback taken in the first round.
Theory went that if they really liked Jones they would have been more aggressive in pursuing him. Well, this time around, Robert Kraft was aggressive in creating a succession plan for Belichick with Mayo in advance of the actual decision. Possibly learning from the instant regret he felt when he went against his gut desire and hired Pete Carroll rather than Belichick to replace Bill Parcells, this time around Kraft had a plan and stuck to it. That doesn’t mean it will work, but he should at least be lauded for the confidence he has in Mayo and the steadfast conviction he had in his decision.
3 – Not only will fans not be getting the offensive-minded head coach they may desire in New England, the team could reportedly stick to the status quo scheme and coaching style it has had on that side of the ball for a quarter century. Two-time former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is reportedly in the running to return to Foxborough to run the offense under Mayo, a move that would likely come with mixed reviews from fans and media, at best. McDaniels has had plenty of success in New England, mostly with Tom Brady. But he did help Mac Jones get the team to the playoffs as a rookie in 2021. And also won with fill-ins Matt Cassel, Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett over the years. Clearly the Patriots are banking on the idea that personnel and coaching more than scheme were at the root of abysmal offensive production over the last couple seasons.
4 – Maybe the most important and curious aspect of Belichick’s departure is the hole or opportunity it leaves in the personnel department, depending on your perspective. Kraft made it quite clear that Belichick had final say in football matters – including drafting, trading and signing players – dating back to 2004. While this could be a step in the more “collaborative” direction for the personnel department that’s been talked about in New England in recent years, it could also be more disastrous than even Belichick’s draft struggles of the last decade. Who will have final say on draft picks or free agent deals? Will the power be split among a couple people? Will the Kraft’s take on a more vocal and impactful role in the process? Could Mayo have a strong voice in roster building? Will current president of player personnel Matt Groh be leading the war room at least for this draft, one in which the team has the franchise-altering No. 3 overall pick? Will current director of scouting Elliot Wolf eventually elevate and emerge to run the personnel department, as many have speculated? There are way more questions than answers in the Patriots personnel department these days.
5 – While getting the coaching and personnel departments settled has to be top priority at this point, sooner or later the attention has to turn to actual roster-building moves that will be made in this critical offseason. The Patriots will have north of $80 million to spend in salary cap dollars this offseason and likely even more of a cash investment than that. There are holes all over the roster that will eventually need to be filled. But the first decisions that may need to be made involve the team’s impending free agents. Important, costly calls will be made in regards to the likes of Mike Onwenu, Kyle Dugger, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings and others. Onwenu may be the biggest decision for an offensive line that’s been a mess more often than not in recent years. He will be one of the top free agents on the market with the ability to play guard or right tackle. If he’s allowed to leave and Trent Brown also departs New England would be trying to rebuild an offense and possibly develop a rookie QB with massive holes on both ends of the line. Among the many, many decisions that need to be made in a short period of time, a potential massive investment in Onwenu has to be near the top of the list.
6 – Did you know that of all the previous head coaches for the Patriots who weren’t interim head coaches the prior season only Pete Carroll had a winning record in his first year at the helm, a 10-6 mark in 1997. Other than Carroll, the group that includes Lou Saban, Clive Rush, Chuck Fairbanks, Ron Erhardt, Ron Meyer, Rod Rust, Dick MacPherson, Parcells and Belichick averaged 4.5 wins in their first year, with all but MacPherson winning 5 or fewer games. Good luck, Jerod!
7 – With New England embarking on a massively important offseason, it’s important to remember some key dates and events on the upcoming NFL calendar. February 20 marks the first date teams can designate Franchise players, a window that ends on March 5. Feb. 27-March 4 is the Scouting Combine in Indy. March 11 begins the so-called legalized tampering period in which teams can negotiate with free agents in advance of the opening of free agency at 4 p.m. on March 13. April 1 is the start of the offseason program for teams, like the Patriots, that hired a new head coach, two weeks ahead of teams with returning coaches. April 25-27 is the NFL Draft. May 2 is the deadline for teams to exercise the fifth-year options on former first-round picks like Mac Jones.
Thank you to MacFarlane Energy, a Mitsubishi Diamond Elite contractor, and the home heating oil and HVAC company that greater Boston and Cape Cod depend on at MacFarlaneEnergy.com.