The New England Patriots have fired embattled head coach Jerod Mayo following a disappointing 4-13 debut season, 国产外流网Network Insiders Ian Rapoport, Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo reported on Sunday.
The team quickly confirmed the news, via a statement from owner Robert Kraft.
"After the game today, I informed Jerod Mayo that he will not be returning as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025," Kraft said. "For me, personally, this was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I have known Jerod for 17 years. He earned my respect and admiration as a rookie in 2008 and throughout his career for his play on the field, his leadership in the locker room and the way he conducted himself in our community. When he joined our coaching staff, his leadership was even more evident, as I saw how the players responded to him. When other teams started requesting to interview him, I feared I would lose him and committed to making him our next head coach. Winning our season-opener on the road at Cincinnati only strengthened my convictions. Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team's performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped."
Kraft had been a Mayo supporter, essentially prepping him behind the scenes as Bill Belichick's eventual replacement prior to parting ways with the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach after the 2023 season.
But the former Patriots linebacker appeared to struggle both with the football operations part of the job, as well as with keeping his locker room together.
Kraft had only hired three coaches in his 30-plus year run as owner: Pete Carroll, Belichick and Mayo. Carroll coached for three seasons before Belichick returned to New England to start his epic run toward six Super Bowl titles. Mayo now becomes the Patriots' first one-and-done coach since Rod Rust's 1-15 season in 1990.
Mayo won his regular-season debut with an upset of the Cincinnati Bengals, which was a rousing start to his head-coaching career after following in the giant footsteps of Belichick. But things quickly went awry for the Patriots, as they fell to 1-6 with six straight losses after being run out of Wembley Stadium by the Jaguars on Oct. 20. That loss was an early flashpoint in Mayo's rocky tenure as he questioned his team鈥檚 toughness.
"What I would say is, look, we're a soft football team across the board," Mayo said at the time.
Mayo's Patriots got back on track with wins over the Jets and Bears, but they closed the season with another six-game losing streak before Sunday's win over the Bills, which also prevented New England from securing the No. 1 pick in the 2025 国产外流网Draft.
"Since buying the team, I have always considered myself and my family as custodians of a public asset," Kraft said in a statement. "We have tremendous fans who expect and deserve a better product than we have delivered in recent years. I apologize for that. I have given much thought and consideration as to what actions I can take to expedite our return to championship contention and determined this move was the best option at this time.
"I am grateful for Jerod's many contributions to the New England Patriots throughout his career and will always be rooting for his success. I appreciate all his hard work and hope the experiences gained will help him in the future, as I still believe he will be a successful head coach in this league. I wish Jerod and his family nothing but success in the future."
Even the strong first-year showing from first-round QB Drake Maye couldn't gloss over some of the Patriots' issues, especially on defense -- where Mayo's expertise lies. They were considerably flawed in all three areas of the game this season, and several Patriots players openly spoke down the stretch about the need for offseason change in order to return to contention.
Belichick's first season wasn't much better, record-wise, at 5-11 in 2000. The next season he and a young Tom Brady famously guided the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title with an upset win over the St. Louis Rams.
The belief heading into the final stages of the season was that Kraft did not want to fire Mayo. The Patriots have a true building block in Maye and some significant, fungible assets with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 国产外流网Draft and more than $100 million in salary-cap space this coming season, .
But clearly, the plan changed following a few big losses down the stretch. Does this mean the Patriots have a clear successor in mind, such as former Titans head coach -- and another former Pats LB -- Mike Vrabel? Or will the Patriots break free of the Belichick tree in their second coaching search in the past 12 months?
After more than two decades of unprecedented franchise success, the future of the Patriots appears unpredictable and uncertain.
