For more than two decades there was an almost predictable cycle in which Bill Belichick’s assistant coaches in New England would get head coaching jobs, try way too hard to replicate their former boss’s style and Patriot Way in a new city and subsequently fail, both swiftly and miserably.
Fan bases in Denver, Detroit, New York, Las Vegas and elsewhere got the off-brand, generic version of Belichick and almost immediately regretted it. And it didn’t work. Not even close.
Now, Jerod Mayo – a former All-Pro linebacker and assistant coach under Belichick who’s only NFL experience came in the world created and micromanaged by his former maniacal GOAT boss – has taken over for the 6 Rings dictator himself in New England and is trying to put his own stamp on the work place and world of football at Gillette Stadium.
And even just in the voluntary, non-contact, no-pads world of May OTA action, Patriots’ players are already feeling and maybe more importantly respecting the difference.
“I mean we don’t got Bill cursing us out every play anymore, but it’s still pretty similar,” second-year defensive lineman Keion White said the feel, flow and overall vibe of spring practice action.
While some Belichick fans and defenders may read that quote and get more aggressively defensive than their God o’ Coaching’s himself in his formative years with Lawrence Taylor in New York, White clarified that his description of the new practice field Patriot Way was in no means a shot at his former head coach.
“I miss it,” White said with a smirk of Belichick’s cursing. “Nah, I like Bill. He’s my type of coach. Like a hardass. I like that.
I respond well to things like that. But Mayo is doing a pretty good job too. It’s all different. Mayo is doing a really good job staying true to himself. Not trying to fill somebody else’s shoes, but create his own path. I really respect that.”
And that’s the key. Technically, Mayo is indeed replacing Belichick, a man who led the greatest dynasty the NFL has ever seen. Arguably the measuring stick for coaching and leadership, not just in football but in any sport or area of the world in the last quarter century.
He’s not Belichick. He can’t be Belichick. He won’t replicate what Belichick did.
Smartly, it seems like Mayo won’t even try.
Mayo simply has a job to do. The best way he can. His way. A personality and style that emboldened owner Robert Kraft to give the very difficult job to his 38-year-old first-timer.
“For me, I can respond to any coaching style as long as you are genuine in who you are,” White declared. “So if you are like a friendly coach and you try to be a hard ass, I’m going to see through that and like challenge the bulls--t. And if you are a hardass coach and trying to be super friendly because like you are trying to cater to certain plyers, I’m going to see through that. I’d much rather you just be yourself and be who you are and true to that. That’s what Mayo’s doing. And I respect that.”
Belichick’s way worked at a high, high level for a long, long time. Of that, we are sure.
Mayo’s way – which he has openly declared as being built on love, relationships and answering the “why?” – may or may not work.
But unlike so many unsuccessful past Belichick assistants, Mayo isn’t trying to be like his former boss. He’s also not trying to NOT be his former boss.
Time – and more importantly talent – will tell if it works.
For now, players seem to very much respect the way Mayo is going about his job.
And that’s a key first early step in this challenging, transitional, post-Belichick process in New England.
In more ways than one, Mayo is hoping to break the chain of curses of past Belichick assistants who just didn’t measure up as head coaches. His players are already noticing and embracing the difference.