Bill Belichick’s reign of terror across the NFL has officially come to an end, with the Patriots hiring former player Jerod Mayo as their new head coach. Mayo already has his work cut out for him now, as he is taking over a team who finished with one the worst records in NFL history, while replacing one of the greatest and most iconic coaches to ever grace the NFL.
The 37-year-old spent his entire eight-year playing career with the Patriots, winning the Defensive Rookie Of the Year Award in 2008 and making two Pro Bowls. Since then, Mayo joined the Patriots coaching staff back in 2019 as linebackers’ coach. Essentially, Mayo has been with the Pats throughout most of his entire football life.
Turning 38 in February, he is the youngest head coach in the NFL, and the first black Patriots head coach in franchise history. Mayo is still getting his feet wet in his new position: some fans were expecting him to stick to Belichicks’ Patriot way, but it looks like he is going to be doing things his own way.
New England recently hired Alex Van Pelt from the Cleveland Browns as their offensive coordinator. Mayo is hiring at every coordinator, but this one was the most important. New England’s defense last season was respectable in most aspects, but Van Pelt will be in charge of fixing and rebuilding its miserable offense that atoned for a whole season of failure.
New England also hired new defensive and special teams coordinators in Demarcus Covington and Jeremy Springer. Draft wise, New England has the 3rd overall pick, meaning they could possibly select a quarterback prospect like North Carolina’s Drake Maye or LSU’s Jayden Daniels. Even if they don’t draft a QB, there is little doubt they will bring in some competition for Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe, who underwhelmed in 2023 under former offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien–a season most Pats fans will want to forget.
Patriots fans across New England are wondering how Mayo will handle the pressure of replacing one of the greatest head coaches in NFL history. Fans are also wondering, will their team do any better than the train wreck of last season?
The sports world was shocked when they found out the news that Bill Belichick and the Patriots were to part ways at the end of the season. Patriots fans are all wondering if things will ever be the same as they were with Bill, but the NFL waits for no one.
The NFL fan base ponders at the thought of Bill Belichick either retiring or taking his services to another club and doing what he did best for the Patriots for 24 years. Belichick already has drawn interest in several other clubs like the Atlanta Falcons, but lost the job to Raheem Morris.
Since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay some years ago, the Patriots have only seen struggles and failure, making the playoffs only once in a one-and-done 47-17 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills in 2021. But, Patriots fans also have something to look forward to: their franchise is turning a big page in their history. Some fans are sad to see the end of an era, wondering if the Lombardi trophy will make its way back to New England.
Jerod Mayo certainly has some big shoes to fill, but it seems as though he is getting shoes the right size for him.