FoxBorough Jerod Mayo is a one-and-done head coach for the Patriots.
Following Sunday’s 23-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills, which saw New England fall to No. 4 overall in the NFL Draft the following spring, Mayo was fired right away. In Mayo’s only season as head coach, the Patriots finished 4-13, and Robert Kraft confirmed the change in a statement.
According to Kraft, he told Jerod Mayo after today’s game that he would not be rejoining the New England Patriots as head coach in 2025. This was one of the most difficult choices I have ever had to make. Jerod and I have been friends for 17 years. As a rookie in 2008 and throughout his career, he gained my respect and admiration for his on-field performance, locker room leadership, and community service.
His leadership became even more apparent once he joined our coaching staff, based on my observations of the players’ reactions to him. I vowed to hire him as our future head coach because I was afraid I would lose him when other clubs began asking to interview him. My beliefs were further reinforced when we defeated Cincinnati on the road in our season opener. Regretfully, our team’s performance trajectory did not rise as I had intended during the season.
Aside from having a bad season on the field, Mayo also had to deal with conflicting media messages. Mayo had to retract several remarks he made this season, starting with his statement on WEEI that the Patriots were going to spend a lot of money. Following a defeat to the Jaguars in London, the coach referred to his team as “soft” and explained that they would be playing soft the following morning. A day later, he claimed he shouldn’t have done that after citing Malcolm Butler’s Super Bowl XLIX interception to explain confusing clock management. Rhamondre Stevenson started the game after Mayo announced he would be benched last week because of his fumbling problems.
The most severe instance occurred at Arizona, where Mayo appeared to blame offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt when he responded to a query about why Drake Maye didn’t have any quarterback runs planned by saying, “You said it, I didn’t.” Naturally, he also walked that back the following morning.
Kraft stated, “I have always thought of myself and my family as custodians of a public asset since purchasing the team.” Our devoted fans deserve and expect a higher caliber of product than we have in recent years. I’m sorry about that. I’ve thought a lot about what I can do to get us back into the running for the championship as quickly as possible, and I’ve decided that this was the best course of action right now.
I will always support Jerod’s success and am appreciative of all that he has done for the New England Patriots over his career. I still think he will be a good head coach in this league, therefore I applaud all of his hard work and hope the skills he has gathered will benefit him in the future. I hope the future holds nothing but the best for Jerod and his family.
Before the longstanding head coach’s time in New England was up, Kraft personally selected Mayo to be his replacement. Mayo’s contract contained a succession provision when Kraft decided to cut ties with Belichick last summer. The Patriots were able to avoid a coaching search as a result.
In 2019, Belichick hired Mayo, a Super Bowl champion, Pro Bowl linebacker, and Patriots first-round choice, as a coach. He served as Steve Belichick’s de facto defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach for the Patriots for five seasons.
When Mayo, 38, was appointed on January 21 of the offseason, he was the youngest head coach. The first-year head coach was supposed to be given time to become comfortable in the position, but this didn’t work out as many had hoped.
The coach had hoped that his team would get better as the season progressed, but that didn’t happen.
After losing 30–17 in Arizona during the bye week, Mayo’s team appeared unprepared. The Patriots were humiliated by the Los Angeles Chargers, 40-7, following a hard-fought defeat in Buffalo.
The Patriots were given the first pick as a result of the defeat. Nevertheless, the Patriots fell to No. 4 in the 2025 NFL Draft following their victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
Now, Kraft will have to find a new head coach for the second consecutive offseason.
The owner, who avoided a traditional coaching search last season, will be the center of attention. Mike Vrabel will probably be the favorite. The former head coach of the Tennessee Titans was recently interviewed by the New York Jets and gets inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
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