The New England Patriots have fired their head coach Jerod Mayo after just one season. Mayo led New England to a 4-13 record, with wins over the Bengals, Jets, Bears, and a week 18 win over the Bills which denied the team the first overall pick.
After Bill Belichick guided New England to six Super Bowls over 24 seasons, Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired Jerod Mayo moments after his first season came to an end.
In a statement released after the game, Kraft said “I informed Jerod Mayo that he will not be returning as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2025.” Kraft would describe the decision as “one of the hardest decisions he’s ever made.”
Later in the release, Kraft would give further explanation to the firing, saying “winning our season-opener on the road at Cincinnati only strengthened my convictions (of hiring Mayo). Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team’s performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped.”
Mayo, a former first round pick for New England, played eight seasons at linebacker for the team. He would be hired by the Patriots as a linebackers coach in 2019, and would work his way up through the coaching system, being trained by Belichick to become his successor.
The Patriots enter one of the most pivotal offseasons in franchise history, with a top-5 draft pick, a franchise quarterback under center, and over $130 million in salary cap to work with. Now, they add a head coach search to their offseason agenda.
