Jerod Mayo hired as New England Patriots head coach
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots have hired Jerod Mayo as their new head coach, the team announced Friday. The announcement comes just a day after the Patriots "parted ways" with Bill Belichick after 24 years.
Mayo will be formally introduced at a news conference next Wednesday, January 17, at noon at Gillette Stadium.
Robert Kraft said Thursday that the Patriots would work "very quickly" to fill the position, and he wasn't kidding. Mayo was clearly New England's guy, as the Patriots didn't reach out to interview anyone else for the job, according to The Athletic.
The team was able to hire Mayo without a lengthy interview process due to a succession plan that was placed in a contract extension with the team that he signed last offseason.
Mayo was seen as Belichick's heir apparent since Josh McDaniels left for Las Vegas. He's spent his entire NFL career -- both as a player and a coach -- in New England.
Mayo was drafted by the Patriots in 2008 and the linebacker went on to have an eight-year career in the middle of New England's defense. He retired after the 2015 season, and after a few years away from football working as an executive in finance at Optum, Mayo joined Belichick's staff as the Patriots' inside linebackers coach in 2019. He never served as the team's defensive coordinator in name, but pretty much ran the team's defense along with Stephen Belichick the last two seasons.
He now has the big task of replacing the greatest head coach of all time, but the New England defense was one of the best in the NFL last season (one of the few bright spots on a 4-13 team) and Mayo has the respect of Patriots players throughout the locker room.
At 37 years old, Mayo will become the youngest head coach in the NFL. He's a month younger than Sean McVay of the Los Angeles Rams. Mayo will be the Patriots 15th head coach and their first Black head coach.