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Ex-Patriots Coach Jerod Mayo Had Unusual Coaching Tactic During 2024 Season

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jan 8, 2025 11:20 AM ET

Of the six head coaches that have been fired in the NFL over the past 72 hours, none was more surprising that the New England Patriots axing Jerod Mayo after just one year at the helm.

Granted, a 4-13 record in any year is going to earn some flak. But for an owner as renown for his patience as Patriots owner Robert Kraft, especially after seemingly being Kraft's anointed successor a year ago, it was downright baffling.

That said, the 2024 Patriots season wasn't all sunshine and rainbows when they weren't losing by double digits to some of the other NFL dregs.

A story shared by The Athletic on Wednesday outlined some "unusual behavior" that Mayo exhibited during his 52 weeks in charge.

One noteworthy instance was Mayo hanging out with his players on the flight home from a loss and playing cards with them rather than with his assistants, as most coaches are expected to. The source who spoke to the outlet said that while it's not "wrong" per se, it's not something they've ever seen before.

“Look, there are a lot of ways to do the job. It’s not that Jerod’s was definitely wrong. But I can’t say I’ve seen that before," the source told The Athletic.

EXCLUSIVE: From a lack of talent on the roster to his inexperience and struggles with discipline, Jerod Mayo had little chance to succeed in New England.@ChadGraff goes inside the former Patriots coach's disastrous season ⤵️
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 8, 2025

That comparatively small issue was the tip of the iceberg to some of Mayo's other behaviors, such as being a little too forthcoming with the media at times. Mayo would talk about team spending, made a perceived dig at his own offensive coordinator and even labeled his team "soft" one time.

The outlet reported that from what they gathered, Mayo tried extensively to "be 180 degrees different" from former Patriots head coach and eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick.

In his statement after firing Mayo, Kraft acknowledged that he is responsible for putting him in "an untenable situation" and feels that he should have given Mayo more time before giving him the full job.

“I feel terrible for Jerod because I put him in an untenable situation,” Kraft said earlier this week. “I know that he has all the tools as a head coach to be successful in this league. He just needed more time before taking the job.”

The Patriots are now set to cast a fairly wide net in seeking out their next head coach. They've already satisfied the Rooney Rule with interviews of Byron Leftwich and Pep Hamilton, and will now likely turn their attention to other candidates who can be real culture-changers in New England again.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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