Bill Belichick apparently spent years trying to get Jerod Mayo to join coaching staff

BOSTON -- Entering this offseason, the New England Patriots were very much at risk of losing Jerod Mayo. The young, experienced coach had grown quite a reputation in a short time, and other franchises were seemingly ready to hire one of the highest-regarded candidates in the NFL.

As we now know, the Patriots made the unprecedented move of announcing their intention to keep Mayo, which led to the 37-year-old turning down a head coaching interview request in Carolina. Though he doesn't seem to have the official defensive coordinator title in New England, one report indicated he may be an assistant head coach under Bill Belichick.

A new story by Chad Graff of The Athletic shines even more light on what makes Mayo such a special coach, and it also revealed an interesting angle of Mayo's coaching origins.

According to Graff, Belichick spent years trying to convince Mayo to become a coach, starting his pitch with Mayo's wife, Chantel.

"After Mayo retired in 2016, Belichick started planting the seeds of a coaching career with Chantel. He told her Mayo was meant to coach," Graff wrote.

After an eight-year NFL career, though, Mayo took some time away from the game, working at Optum as an "executive in residence."

"In 2019, Mayo relented to Belichick's frequent overtures, joining the staff as the inside linebackers coach," Graff wrote. "Within four years he was interviewing for head-coaching openings. Now, he's tied to New England long-term."

That pursuit wasn't surprising to former teammates of Mayo, who knew of the linebacker's smarts and maturity from his earliest days in the NFL. Belichick, of course, noticed all of that when selecting Mayo with the 10th overall pick in 2008. And it clearly led to one of the greatest coaches of all time pursuing Mayo to start his second career in New England on the coaching staff.