The Patriots faced low expectations this season, but Jerod Mayo didn’t exactly bring a lot of confidence when New England entered the bye week.
Mayo’s side entered Week 14 with a 3-10 record and commanding one of the league’s worst offenses and defenses. It’s never an easy task to be Bill Belichick’s successor, but Mayo’s transition into a head coach was rough.
The 38-year-old tried to be the antithesis of Belichick in his handling of the media. However, that turned Mayo into a head coach who speaks out of both sides of his mouth. Drake Maye was the best quarterback in practice, but Jacoby Brissett was named the starter in Week 1. The Patriots were soft — err, actually, they’re “playing soft.”
Countless times, Mayo says something only to take it back a day or two later. That’s led to bad actors taking the head coach out of context like when he supposedly blamed the players for the team’s poor play — the full context of the quote wasn’t as bad as X aggregators made it out to be.
But is this enough to fire him after one season? According to multiple reports, Robert Kraft gave assurances to Mayo at least that he’ll be around next season. Should he though? Let’s weigh the pros and cons of firing Mayo.
CONS
You were probably typing this after you saw the headline, but yes, Mayo didn’t build this roster. Eliot Wolf seemed too secure about the offensive line and skill players and didn’t do much to upgrade the roster. The executive vice president of player personnel certainly tried to do that but was unsuccessful. But a defense of Mayo would be that not many coaches would have done better with this season’s Patriots roster.
Firing a coach after one season also might be a hasty move. Dan Campbell needed time to build the culture that’s on display with the Detroit Lions. Mayo might also need another season to show his worth as a head coach. He also might not be the whole problem. Alex Van Pelt hasn’t been that inspiring of an offensive coordinator, and DeMarcus Covington somehow isn’t getting enough blame for the regression on defense. A coordinator change could be more beneficial to the Patriots than a head coaching fire.
PROS
Alright, we’re getting to the portion that you’re probably salivating over. While there’s an argument to be made that Mayo might need more time or that he isn’t the sole reason for New England’s woes, what has he done to merit another season? Mayo isn’t an analytically-minded head coach who takes advantage of small edges to help his team win. He gives off the impression of another conservative head coach who just wants to run the ball and play good defense. Well, you can’t do that if your offensive line and defense are trash.
Mayo also gives off the impression that he prefers to defer to his coordinators and his assistants. So the Patriots have a worse version of Mike Tomlin? The Pittsburgh Steelers were built on Tomlin’s identity, but Mayo’s done a terrible job at establishing his and letting his voice connect with the players. Just look at how he’s handled controversies. Multiple players voice their frustrations on social media, and players who’ve been involved in legal trouble only faced little to no consequences. The Patriots don’t give off an impression of a tightly run ship as Pittsburgh has.
There could be as many as 10 head coach openings when the regular season ends. There will be many intriguing candidates who seem like they could be better than Mayo. Mike Vrabel has proven experience getting the most out of a bad roster. Ben Johnson would be a dream coach to pair with Drake Maye. Liam Cohen and Joe Brady also would be intriguing hires. Want to improve the defense? How about Aaron Glenn and the work he’s done with an injury-riddled Lions defense?
VERDICT
It seems likely Mayo will return next season, but it would not be surprising if there was at least one coordinator change. But if we’re answering the question: how hot should Mayo’s seat be? We’re going to give it an 8 out of 10. The Patriots were expected to be bad, but Mayo’s side looks poorly coached and ill-prepared every week. Fans should fear that Maye’s excellence will protect Mayo and other coach’s jobs and that they might take credit for what was an obvious move at the NFL draft. Mayo still has time after the bye to show his strengths as a head coach, but he failed to show that before Week 14.
