What Cam Newton knew about Patriots hiring Jerod Mayo

Free-agent quarterback and one-time NFL Most Valuable Player Cam Newton featured for the New England Patriots during the 2020 season and seemingly learned at that time that then-linebackers coach Jerod Mayo would eventually succeed Bill Belichick as the club's head coach. 

"Jerod Mayo is solidified and has all right to be the next person in charge," Newton explained about the situation during the latest edition of his "4th and 1" YouTube show, per Khari Thompson of Boston.com. "Hell, when I was there, I knew he was going to be next."

Mayo initially joined the New England staff as linebackers coach ahead of the 2019 season, and it is now known that the contract extension he signed last offseason included language that essentially made him the Patriots' head coach in waiting. 

Team owner Robert Kraft and Belichick "mutually" agreed to part ways on Jan. 11 after New England failed to make the playoffs for a third time in four years, and Kraft wasted little time in handing Mayo the gig. 

"Just his presence alone," Newton said about Mayo. "He was running a lot of meetings and he had a lot of that type of leadership tone. It was almost like he was the next up. There were whispers, but we’re talking two-three years ago."

Newton's take is interesting considering it was reported before Week 18 that Robert Kraft and Patriots president Jonathan Kraft could wait until February to announce a final decision about Belichick's future. That timeline suggested the Krafts weren't worried about potentially losing a top-tier coaching candidate to a different club, probably because they already had their man under contract. 

However, the fact that Patriots linebacker Mack Wilson recently revealed that current New England players "didn’t know" before the events of Jan. 11 if Belichick, Mayo or somebody else was going to be head coach indicates at least some associated with the franchise weren't as sure as Newton about how the Krafts would handle what became the end of an era for the organization.