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Jerod Mayo has been fired by the New England Patriots.
On the heels of a 4-13 season, the Patriots announced on Sunday that Mayo will not be returning for a second year in Foxborough. Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft said in a statement that it was “one of the hardest decisions” he has ever made. Mayo spent 8 seasons with the Patriots as a player and then another 6 as a coach.
“When other teams started requesting to interview him, I feared I would lose him and committed to making him our next head coach,” Kraft said in a statement announcing the decision. “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.”
After that win over the Bengals, New England lost straight games. They suffered through another 6-game losing streak before Sunday’s 23-16 win over Buffalo.
Mayo, a star linebacker at Tennessee in the mid-2000s, took over for Bill Belichick after a 4-13 season in 2023. With a losing record this year, the Patriots have now gone 3 consecutive seasons without a Playoff berth and have ended with more losses than wins in 4 of their last 5 years.
“Since buying the team, I have always considered myself and my family as custodians of a public asset. 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,” Kraft said.
“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.”
The Patriots will enter the 2025 NFL Draft armed with the fourth overall pick. They also have a quarterback to build around in Drake Maye, last year’s No. 3 pick. In 12 appearances this season, Maye threw for 2,276 yards and 15 touchdowns against 10 interceptions.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, New England will also have upwards of $130 million in cap space to work with this offseason.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
