The New England Patriots didn’t bring in a retread. They didn’t conduct a sham interview to comply with a failed NFL policy. The Patriots did something refreshing. They promoted someone from within.
The hiring of Jerod Mayo as head coach of the most successful American franchise this century deserves applause for many reasons. In a league that has overlooked too many qualified Black candidates, Mayo now has one of the biggest jobs in sports. Plus, he’s not one of those minority candidates who has had to wait far too long to get his shot. At 37, Mayo is the youngest head coach in the NFL, surpassing the Los Angeles Rams’ Sean McVay by a month.
L.A. brought in then-embryonic McVay at the age of 30 in 2017. He got the Rams to the Super Bowl in his second season and won it all by his fifth. The expectations for Mayo will be stratospheric since he’s taking over for six-time champion Bill Belichick. No one knows how Mayo will fare. The degree of difficulty is substantial, as it would be for anyone following in those footsteps.
The Boston media didn’t waste any time putting on the pressure.
Before we make any predictions and pronouncements when the off-season hasn’t even started, let’s reflect on how New England put Mayo in this position. Having a coach-in-waiting isn’t something that is done often in pro sports. You usually see it in college, where coaches tend to have longer tenures.
The Patriots could do this because they had a 24-year run of organizational stability. No other coach knows Mayo better than Belichick. Belichick drafted Mayo in 2008, developing him into a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker and putting him on staff as a linebackers coach in 2019.
We all dream of having bosses like this— ones that nurture, empower, and promote us to ensure a smooth transition. That’s how it should be, and more franchises should follow New England’s lead of investing in internal coaching candidates. Understandably, this is challenging to do in a league where Black Monday happens at the end of every season.
Too many owners and general managers lack vision. They prefer to make safe choices that appease the fanbase and sometimes the national media. Get the hot assistant from another team. Right now, it’s guys like Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. You seldom hear about someone who’s being groomed from within the organization.
Except for New England. We’ve been hearing for a few while now that Mayo might be the guy to follow Belichick. That’s not an accident. The Patriots believed that he was potentially the right fit. Plus, it’s easier to get your fans on board with that possibility if you leak the information early. Think of it as a trial balloon.
So, when it came time for Belichick and owner Bob Kraft to part ways, there was no dragged-out process. They had a blueprint. They had a coach. They had a path forward. The speed at which they did all this should help them get a jump start on the 2024 season.
While other teams are still conducting interviews, while other owners have no concrete plan, New England is, once again, steps ahead of the competition.
