New England hires 37-year-old Jerod Mayo as he takes over as coach after Belichick.
New England Patriots hired Jerod Mayo to take over as head coach from Bill Belichick, the team said on Friday. In his later role, he has since built a character for being admired by other players.
The Patriots have had Mayo, 37, as their inside linebackers coach according to Belichick since 2019. On Wednesday, the club said, he will be officially presented as the team’s new head coach, making him the youngest in NFL history.
CNN was the first to report that Mayo had been promoted. The hire comes a day shortly after Belichick decided to leave the Patriots after 24 years with the team and six Super Bowl wins.
Since the Patriots did something very unusual last summer and said they were giving Mayo a long-term deal, he quickly rose to the top for the list of possible Belichick replacements.
Over the last two seasons, Mayo and Steve Belichick, who is Belichick’s son and a fellow linebackers coach, called plays for the Patriots’ defense.
New England has a 4-13 record this season, but their defense has stayed highly ranked in a number of categories, even though they lost top linebacker Matt Judon and rookie corner Christian Gonzalez early in the season to injuries that ended their careers.
Mayo signed a deal before last season, but it’s not clear what it included. He did this after interviewing for several head coaching positions at Philadelphia or Carolina each year.
Mayo told the Associated Press last week that the worst season in Belichick had given him important life lessons that would help him whenever he got the chance to take charge of a team.
“When I think about what happens when I do get my chance—and I don’t know when that is—I’m really like a dry leaf swirling in the wind and going where it takes me,” Mayo said. It makes me feel like I’m ready, though. I think I’m ready. I’m looking forward to the chance, no matter where it comes from.
It took Mayo eight years to play linebacker for New England. He won a Super Bowl with the team in 2014 and was hired to be a coaching assistant in 2019.
Along with Stephen Belichick, who is the outside linebackers coach or defensive play-caller, they have led a Patriots defense that has stayed ranked highly in many categories, even though they lost top linebacker Matt Judon as well as rookie cornerback Christian Gonzalez early in the season to injuries that ended their careers.
The New England Patriots of the NFL quickly hired Jerod Mayo as their new head coach, making him the 15th in the team’s history. This came just one day after firing famous coach Bill Belichick.
Mayo, who is 37 years old, will be officially presented at a news gathering on Wednesday. He will be the NFL’s youngest coach, a title that Sean McVay has held since becoming coach of the Los Angeles Rams in 2017. Mayo is one month younger than McVay.
Mayo joined Belichick’s teaching team in 2019 as the linebackers coach. He was a linebacker for the Patriots from 2008 to 2015 shortly after being picked in the first round during the draft out of Tennessee.
The Patriots were able to hire Mayo right away instead of going through the normal NFL hiring process because they built a succession plan into the contract extension he signed last offseason.
This is similar to what the Baltimore Ravens did when Eric DeCosta took over as general manager after Ozzie Newsome retired in 2019.
A lot of the guys in the locker room, especially those on defense, stood behind him. Someone on defense texted, “I hope they’ll give it to Mayo,” when the news came out that Belichick was going. He’s earned it.”
Captain Deatrich Wise Jr. said that Mayo was a big reason why he thought the defense did well against Buffalo Bills player Josh Allen in a loss in Week 17.
As a player, Mayo became the team captain to his second season. Some players called him “Bill Jr.” because they saw him as a future teacher who spent a lot of time at the team building, like Belichick.
Belichick, 71, as well as the Patriots, said Thursday that their leader would be leaving the team after 24 years as coach and six Super Bowl wins.
Conversations between Belichick as well as Patriots boss Robert Kraft led to the decision to break up. Belichick said it was time to “move on.”