Jerod Mayo: New England Patriots fire head coach one season after replacing Bill Belichick | NFL news
The New England Patriots fired head coach Jerod Mayo on Sunday night, just one season after promoting him as their successor to the great Bill Belichick.
Mayo’s dismissal followed New England’s 23-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills on the final day of the regular season, with the Patriots 4-13 in their third straight losing campaign.
“After today’s game, I informed Jerod Mayo that he will not be returning as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025,” owner Robert Kraft said in a statement.
“For me, personally, this was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. I’ve known Jerod for 17 years. He earned my respect and admiration as a rookie in 2008 and throughout his career with his play on the field, his leadership in the locker room and the way he behaved in our community.
“When he joined our coaching staff, his leadership was even more pronounced, because I saw how the players reacted to him.
“When other teams started asking to interview him, I was afraid I was going to lose him and I committed to him being our next head coach. The season-opening win on the road at Cincinnati only reinforced my beliefs.
“Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team’s performances during the season did not follow the upward trajectory that I had hoped.”
Mayo previously spent eight seasons with the Patriots as a player, winning a Super Bowl during the 2014 season.
He eventually returned in 2019 to join Belichick’s staff as the inside linebackers coach, establishing himself as one of the more respected defensive minds in football.
His popularity has made him the leading candidate to take over from Belichick when and if his time in Foxboro ends. That moment came after a 4-13 record in 2023 when the Patriots moved on from Belichick after six of nine Super Bowl wins and 24 seasons at the helm.
At age 37, he began the season as the second youngest head coach in the NFL behind Seattle’s Mike Macdonald.
“I am grateful to Jerod for his many contributions to the New England Patriots throughout his career and will always be rooting for his success,” Kraft added.
“I appreciate all his efforts and I hope that the experience gained will help him in the future, because I still believe that he will be a successful head coach in this league. I wish Jerod and his family nothing but success in the future.”
A grueling season has included encouraging signs from rookie running back Drake Maye, whose performances should allow the Patriots to prioritize other positions in the NFL draft, if they choose.
New England opened the campaign with a win over the Cincinnati Bengals, before losing six straight, including a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, after which Mayo shared criticism suggesting his team had played “softly”.
The Patriots responded with two wins in their next three against the New York Jets and Chicago Bears, either side of an overtime loss to the Tennessee Titans, before suffering another six-game skid, including a 40-7 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on the end of December.
Mayo’s departure comes as the name of Mike Vrabel, the former Tennessee Titans head coach who won three Super Bowls while a player in New England, has re-entered the league-wide pool of head coaching candidates.
