FOXBORO, Mass. — Robert Kraft could have doubled down on his mistake, but he didn’t.
The Patriots owner, who released a statement Sunday evening confirming the firing of head coach Jerod Mayo, deserves some credit for that.
After all, signing off on another season with Mayo at the helm would’ve compounded things, especially given the team’s draft assets and financial capabilities this offseason.
Kraft acknowledged the mistake himself.
“When other teams started requesting to interview him (Mayo), I feared I would lose him and committed to making him our next head coach,” Kraft wrote in his statement.
Kraft all but admitted he jumped the gun. He entrusted Mayo to serve as the heir to future Hall of Famer Bill Belichick, despite the fact Mayo was relatively new to coaching and, at that point, never held a title more than a position coach. A trip to Israel in 2019 sat atop Mayo’s resume and that was all Kraft needed to have his convictions strengthened.
Mayo wasn’t ready for the job, which came at least one season before Kraft intended. It showed time and time again.
It wasn’t just the X’s and O’s and wins and losses either; the 2024 Patriots were not going to be judged by such. There was far more to it than that.
The young team never developed or took steps forward. When asked leading up to Week 18, Mayo couldn’t point to a single example of the culture he was setting. Unflattering reports surfaced Sunday about said culture. Meanwhile, young wide receivers called coaches and Mayo threw coaches under the bus himself. Nevermind the fact Mayo stepped in a pile of his own crap weekly during press conferences, consistently saying things only to walk them back the next day.
The Patriots were not a professional outfit in 2024 and Kraft knew it.
Not moving on from Mayo would have been signing off in hopes it would get better in the future. It would be running back a coaching staff whose qualifications are hope and potential. That’s no way to run an organization, especially an organization with a top-five draft pick and money to spend this offseason. Entrusting those assets to someone as inexperienced as Mayo could have set the team back years and years.
The initial mistake falls on Kraft, no doubt. But there’s something to be said about the longtime owner making the tough decision, tucking tail and admitting his wrongs, and ultimately moving on. That was tough to envision midway through the season, but Kraft did it.
And Kraft’s Patriots likely will be better off for it.
