Bill Belichick focused on UNC, not worried about Patriots after his replacement was fired after 1 season
Bill Belichick knows his former student and New England Patriots successor Jerod Mayo was fired after just one season.
But what happens to the team he won six Super Bowls with is the least of his worries right now.
During his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Belichick, who was in a suit and tie on a recruiting trip for his new gig as Tar Heels from North Carolina head football coach, said the Patriots never called him because they decided to fire Mayo after he went 4-13 this year.
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New North Carolina football head coach Bill Belichick addresses the crowd at the Dean Smith Center during halftime of the NCAA college basketball game between La Salle and North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
“The Patriots situation, honestly, I don’t have too much to say about it,” Belichick told McAfee and his crew. “Robert Kraft, Jonathan Kraft, Robyn Glaser, they make the decisions there.
“Robert personally chose Mayo, but ultimately the decision making is something they would have to comment on.
“I really don’t know from the outside looking in. They didn’t call me and ask, so I don’t know.”
PATRIOTS OWNER ROBERT KRAFT ASSIGNS BLAME AFTER JEROD MAYO’S FIRING: ‘THE WHOLE SITUATION IS ON ME’
Of course, McAfee had to ask Belichick after his trade was complete in Foxborough, but a new journey for the legendary coach is already underway as he continues to try to build his first roster in Chapel Hill.
As Belichick mentioned, Kraft personally selected Mayo, who was already on Belichick’s staff, to be the Patriots’ next head coach this past offseason. It came after the team and Belichick parted ways following a 4-13 season, ending a 24-year relationship that produced arguably the greatest football coach of all time.
Robert Kraft speaks during the Historical Roots of Black and Jewish Solidarity at 92NY on March 7, 2024 in New York City. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
Mayo played for the Patriots from 2008 to 2015, winning a Super Bowl with the franchise during the 2014 campaign. Belichick eventually brought him onto his coaching staff in 2019 as the linebackers coach before Kraft opted out last year.
But Kraft took the blame on Monday when speaking to reporters about Mayo, saying “the whole situation is on me” for his decision to let Mayo go after just one season.
I feel terrible for Jerod, because I put him in an unsustainable situation, Kraft added. “I know he has all the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league. He just needed more time to take over the job.
“At the end of the day, I’m a fan of this team first, and now I have to go out and find a coach that can get us back to the playoffs and hopefully a championship.”
New North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Bill Belichick speaks to the media at the Loudermilk Center for Excellence. (Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images)
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As the Patriots embark on another head coaching search, with another former Belichick player, Mike Vrabel, expected to be the front-runner as Mayo’s replacement, the 72-year-old coach’s inaugural season with the Tar Heels is looming large, as this to be Belichick’s first college appearance in his illustrious career.
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