Why was Mayo hired?

[Sam Bam Cunningham]

Speculation on my part.

BB left this team so depleted of talent on the offensive side that Kraft was likely worried that opening the coach search to top tier external candidates would risk the embarrassment of being turned down. That would not be a good look for the franchise.
To avoid this risk he simply promoted from within someone he knew with 100% certainty would take the job. Even Vrabel was not a sure thing to accept the job. I had hoped that Vrabel or Harbaugh would have at least been interviewed. My hunch is that Kraft knew that neither was interested before he fired Bill.

I believe this is also the issue with Mayo finding an OC. There have been few candidates interviewed so far and as Jeff Howe mentioned, the Patriots OC position is not viewed as a desirable one for the top tier candidates. If it were viewed as a good job, Mayo would have hired someone. Now the Pats are left hoping that McDaniels has no other options and falls to them as a last resort.

The franchise is at rock bottom and the best candidates out there know this. The next year is going to be an extremely bumpy road for an OC. I honestly believe that Josh is the best that the Pats can hope for.
Sad what has happened to this franchise.

 

[Tunescribe]

Speculation on my part.

BB left this team so depleted of talent on the offensive side that Kraft was likely worried that opening the coach search to top tier external candidates would risk the embarrassment of being turned down. That would not be a good look for the franchise.
To avoid this risk he simply promoted from within someone he knew with 100% certainty would take the job. Even Vrabel was not a sure thing to accept the job. I had hoped that Vrabel or Harbaugh would have at least been interviewed. My hunch is that Kraft knew that neither was interested before he fired Bill.

I believe this is also the issue with Mayo finding an OC. There have been few candidates interviewed so far and as Jeff Howe mentioned, the Patriots OC position is not viewed as a desirable one for the top tier candidates. If it were viewed as a good job, Mayo would have hired someone. Now the Pats are left hoping that McDaniels has no other options and falls to them as a last resort.

The franchise is at rock bottom and the best candidates out there know this. The next year is going to be an extremely bumpy road for an OC. I honestly believe that Josh is the best that the Pats can hope for.
Sad what has happened to this franchise.

No, it had nothing at all to do with avoiding embarrassment. Kraft backed himself into a corner coronating Mayo as "heir apparent" more than a year ago. At that time he expected a smooth transition to the proverbial HC throne for Mayo after BB broke Shula's record and retired, riding off into the sunset. The team shockingly going 4-13 pushed that timetable up prematurely by at least a year, probably two or three.

After BB was fired I wanted Vrabel, he seemed perfect for this job and I guarantee he would've taken it if offered. Kraft likely was blindsided by his coming available, which presented the dilemma of reneging on his promise to Mayo.

This was badly calculated by Kraft, although no one could've foreseen 2023 becoming such a disaster. Hopefully Mayo rises to the occasion.

 

[PP2]

Speculation on my part.

BB left this team so depleted of talent on the offensive side that Kraft was likely worried that opening the coach search to top tier external candidates would risk the embarrassment of being turned down. That would not be a good look for the franchise.
To avoid this risk he simply promoted from within someone he knew with 100% certainty would take the job. Even Vrabel was not a sure thing to accept the job. I had hoped that Vrabel or Harbaugh would have at least been interviewed. My hunch is that Kraft knew that neither was interested before he fired Bill.

I believe this is also the issue with Mayo finding an OC. There have been few candidates interviewed so far and as Jeff Howe mentioned, the Patriots OC position is not viewed as a desirable one for the top tier candidates. If it were viewed as a good job, Mayo would have hired someone. Now the Pats are left hoping that McDaniels has no other options and falls to them as a last resort.

The franchise is at rock bottom and the best candidates out there know this. The next year is going to be an extremely bumpy road for an OC. I honestly believe that Josh is the best that the Pats can hope for.
Sad what has happened to this franchise.

You got one part right: pure speculation.

First, Mayo is very intelligent, and by that I mean he is very, very smart. He is also quite articulate with his players. And also pretty popular.

About two years ago I attended one of the preseason camp practices. At the end there was a particularly intense 11 on 11 intersquad scrimmage. BB must have had told the team that whoever won would get to take the rest of practice off, because there was a lot of woofing going on, a lot of yelling and finger pointing. And guess who was in the middle of all that? Yes, it was Mayo. He was very animated, very involved with the defense and telling them what to look out for and also talking **** at the offense.

It all came down to a fourth and one, which the defense won by breaking up a surprise pass. The entire defense, including Mayo ran onto the field, whooping, yelling and taunting at the offense.

You couldn't get more of a contrast: Mayo, right in there with the players, being vocal and participating in their antics, while BB stood aloof, arms crossed.

And before you tell me that's not how a coach should be, I will tell you that times are a changin.' The authoritarian, impersonal coaching approach doesn't work anymore these days. Players want to be told why this, why that.

 

[*ChungFu*]

You got one part right: pure speculation.

First, Mayo is very intelligent, and by that I mean he is very, very smart. He is also quite articulate with his players. And also pretty popular.

About two years ago I attended one of the preseason camp practices. At the end there was a particularly intense 11 on 11 intersquad scrimmage. BB must have had told the team that whoever won would get to take the rest of practice off, because there was a lot of woofing going on, a lot of yelling and finger pointing. And guess who was in the middle of all that? Yes, it was Mayo. He was very animated, very involved with the defense and telling them what to look out for and also talking **** at the offense.

It all came down to a fourth and one, which the defense won by breaking up a surprise pass. The entire defense, including Mayo ran onto the field, whooping, yelling and taunting at the offense.

You couldn't get more of a contrast: Mayo, right in there with the players, being vocal and participating in their antics, while BB stood aloof, arms crossed.

And before you tell me that's not how a coach should be, I will tell you that times are a changin.' The authoritarian, impersonal coaching approach doesn't work anymore these days. Players want to be told why this, why that.

There are freshman at Chelsea High School that can woof with the best of them.
Some testament.

 

[venecol]

Speculation on my part.

BB left this team so depleted of talent on the offensive side that Kraft was likely worried that opening the coach search to top tier external candidates would risk the embarrassment of being turned down. That would not be a good look for the franchise.
To avoid this risk he simply promoted from within someone he knew with 100% certainty would take the job. Even Vrabel was not a sure thing to accept the job. I had hoped that Vrabel or Harbaugh would have at least been interviewed. My hunch is that Kraft knew that neither was interested before he fired Bill.

I believe this is also the issue with Mayo finding an OC. There have been few candidates interviewed so far and as Jeff Howe mentioned, the Patriots OC position is not viewed as a desirable one for the top tier candidates. If it were viewed as a good job, Mayo would have hired someone. Now the Pats are left hoping that McDaniels has no other options and falls to them as a last resort.

The franchise is at rock bottom and the best candidates out there know this. The next year is going to be an extremely bumpy road for an OC. I honestly believe that Josh is the best that the Pats can hope for.
Sad what has happened to this franchise.

Unlike Belichick, who had no plan whatsoever to replace Tom Brady, Kraft had a succession plan established to replace Belichick.

You are 100% correct, Belichick not only left the team depleated of talent but drove it into a ditch. Kraft saw this coming and put his plan in place by writing into Mayo's contract language that allowed for the succession w/o having to comply with the Rooney rule. This saved valuable time since while teams have spent weeks looking for a HC replacement, the Patriots have moved on to other business. In elevating Mayo, they get to keep the defensive phase pretty much intact, which happens to be the only unit that worked while working on revamping the offense and ST units.

External HC candidates were never a consideration. Unlike Bill, who tripped all over himself until finally settling at the last minute for a damaged Cam; the Krafts had all of this thought out and executed it to perfection.

Even Vrabel coming available didn't move the needle. The plan had already been set in motion and there was strong conviction behind it. Vrabel wouldn't have worked out anyway. He was having conflicts with TEN ownership over GM duties he wanted for himself. Exactly what the Krafts wanted to avoid after experiencing the disaster that was a Belichick with too much power with terrible results w/o Brady. Harbaugh would've been the same deal.

No, the Krafts made the right decision, Mayo was the right man for the job. This was perfectly calculated and planned by the Krafts given the total disaster this season turned into. Transition was made smoothly and w/o vacillation. Hopefully Mayo rises to the occasion.

 

[Water Boy]

Kraft went with his gut.

I think its clear that Mayo has all the intangibles and can inspire.

We'll see if he can put together a staff, have a vision on acquiring and developing talent, and handle the Xs and 0s.

 

[TomPatriot]

How Jerod Mayo's path to New England Patriots coach started in first days at Tennessee

Some former Tennessee football teammates learned Jerod Mayo would be the New England Patriots coach before it was reported. But no one was surprised.

www.knoxnews.com

 

[Tunescribe]

External HC candidates were never a consideration.

Even Vrabel coming available didn't move the needle.

As I said, Vrabel likely would be HC had Kraft not prematurely designated Mayo "heir apparent." He didn't expect Vrabel to become available.

Robert Kraft, Patriots reportedly considered Mike Vrabel for head coaching position before hiring Jerod Mayo

Before hiring Jerod Mayo as the Patriots' head coach, the team’s owner reportedly considered another past New England defender for the role.

www.boston.com

 

[mike_usagisan]

As I said, Vrabel likely would be HC had Kraft not prematurely designated Mayo "heir apparent." He didn't expect Vrabel to become available.

Robert Kraft, Patriots reportedly considered Mike Vrabel for head coaching position before hiring Jerod Mayo

Before hiring Jerod Mayo as the Patriots' head coach, the team’s owner reportedly considered another past New England defender for the role.

www.boston.com

I suspect this might be right, but I always liked the way Kraft talked about choosing a coach is like choosing a wife. I think he likes Mayo a lot and feels like it's a good choice in his gut. But we'll see.

 

[Tunescribe]

I suspect this might be right, but I always liked the way Kraft talked about choosing a coach is like choosing a wife. I think he likes Mayo a lot and feels like it's a good choice in his gut. But we'll see.

I think we also might allow for some difference of opinion on Mayo between Robert and Jonathan. There was quite a bit of speculation around Vrabel to the Patriots a couple months ago. Also, Jonathan was conspicuously absent from Mayo's introductory press conference.

Tennessee Titans HC Mike Vrabel mentioned in trade talks again

For the second time this season, sources have indicated that some teams might attempt to trade for Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

titansized.com

Patriots reportedly unlikely to trade for Mike Vrabel if they move on from Bill Belichick

Mike Vrabel has been speculated to be a top possible replacement for Bill Belichick if the Patriots were to move on this offseason.

www.boston.com

Robert Kraft's dream Bill Belichick replacement may be back on the market

This weekend, the 2023 NFL regular season officially concludes. With that, 14 teams will be preparing for their upcoming playoff games while the rest of the lea

fansided.com

Everyone said the same thing after Titans fired Mike Vrabel

The Tennessee Titans stunned the NFL world when they announced on Tuesday that they have parted ways with Mike Vrabel, and many people believe they know

larrybrownsports.com

 

[mike_usagisan]

I think we also might allow for some difference of opinion on Mayo between Robert and Jonathan. There was quite a bit of speculation around Vrabel to the Patriots a couple months ago. Also, Jonathan was conspicuously absent from Mayo's introductory press conference.

Tennessee Titans HC Mike Vrabel mentioned in trade talks again

For the second time this season, sources have indicated that some teams might attempt to trade for Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

titansized.com

Patriots reportedly unlikely to trade for Mike Vrabel if they move on from Bill Belichick

Mike Vrabel has been speculated to be a top possible replacement for Bill Belichick if the Patriots were to move on this offseason.

www.boston.com

Robert Kraft's dream Bill Belichick replacement may be back on the market

This weekend, the 2023 NFL regular season officially concludes. With that, 14 teams will be preparing for their upcoming playoff games while the rest of the lea

fansided.com

Everyone said the same thing after Titans fired Mike Vrabel

The Tennessee Titans stunned the NFL world when they announced on Tuesday that they have parted ways with Mike Vrabel, and many people believe they know

larrybrownsports.com

Yeah, but it seemed like a lot of that was media-generated rather than anything coming out from ownership.

I also wonder if it's like when you're in the draft and you want to come out with a CB and there's a few of them that are graded similarly. You're okay passing up on your top choice because you just want to come away with one of them.

 

[venecol]

A lot of conviction in Ian's reporting. Lol

“This really was always Jerod Mayo’s job. Not to say they didn’t consider Mike Vrabel,” Rapoport said Friday. “My understanding is he was given some consideration by Robert Kraft. But really since before last season … Jerod Mayo was the person identified as the next head coach.”

Rapoport doubled down (lol) on his report later in the day.

“My understanding is they did, in fact, consider Mike Vrabel for a little bit,” Rapoport said. “But this was always Jerod Mayo’s job. It just was made official earlier today."

OK Ian, if you say so. Lol

 

[*ChungFu*]

I think we also might allow for some difference of opinion on Mayo between Robert and Jonathan. There was quite a bit of speculation around Vrabel to the Patriots a couple months ago. Also, Jonathan was conspicuously absent from Mayo's introductory press conference.

Tennessee Titans HC Mike Vrabel mentioned in trade talks again

For the second time this season, sources have indicated that some teams might attempt to trade for Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel.

titansized.com

Patriots reportedly unlikely to trade for Mike Vrabel if they move on from Bill Belichick

Mike Vrabel has been speculated to be a top possible replacement for Bill Belichick if the Patriots were to move on this offseason.

www.boston.com

Robert Kraft's dream Bill Belichick replacement may be back on the market

This weekend, the 2023 NFL regular season officially concludes. With that, 14 teams will be preparing for their upcoming playoff games while the rest of the lea

fansided.com

Everyone said the same thing after Titans fired Mike Vrabel

The Tennessee Titans stunned the NFL world when they announced on Tuesday that they have parted ways with Mike Vrabel, and many people believe they know

larrybrownsports.com

Interesting.
Now maybe even the PatsFans Funky Bunch can like old white men again.

 

[Gumby]

I keep wondering why so many keep coming up with all these
- ‘ pure speculatoon’
- ‘it’s just a guess’
-‘ I think he felt’
’RK believed’ [like we can know this’
-other tinfoil-hat conspiracies

all the while RK held a press conference and gave us an answer; why don’t we want to just believe it and instead make **** up? Is it just to see our own posts [I mean that is the point of this place, but …,,]?


RK said: I’ve been around him off-on for 17 (?) years and I had a gut feeling … the same I had and ignored when I let BB get away the first time.

 

[KCSVEN]

There is no real evidence Kraft preferred Vrabel over Mayo. What Kraft has repeatedly said is Mayo was the guy, has special qualities and was always the guy. He's not stupid, he put into a contract he'd be the next guy because he believed he was a special coach. Thinking he regrets putting that in the contract or would have hired Vrabel if it wasn't means Kraft is a poor businessman and business decision maker, yet all his history points to that being inaccurate.

The first post here Starts with this is all speculation, and that's it, none of it passes the test of reality.

Teams took weeks to hire a head coach but Mayo not hiring an OC means people don't want the job? That makes no sense.
Everyone knows Demarcus is highly likely going to be DC, yet not hired yet because you need to take the time to thoroughly review each possible candidate.

All 32 OC positions in the NFL are good jobs and what better job than taking over with a first round QB and money to pay a free agent WR AND coming off a year with one of the worst offensive teams in the league. You are going to look good in comparison to 2023, it will help anyone's career coming here now. You'll be known as the guy that fixed the broken offense.

SO:
NO, they were never going to go with Vrabel or Harbaugh over Mayo
NO, the reason they have not hired an OC has nothing to do with it not being viewed as a good job.
NO, franchise is not rock bottom, as Vrabel clearly pointed out the ownership and environment is excellent.

I guess we've reached the point in the off season where speculation goes wild. Yay!

 

[cmasspatsfan]

There is no real evidence Kraft preferred Vrabel over Mayo. What Kraft has repeatedly said is Mayo was the guy, has special qualities and was always the guy. He's not stupid, he put into a contract he'd be the next guy because he believed he was a special coach. Thinking he regrets putting that in the contract or would have hired Vrabel if it wasn't means Kraft is a poor businessman and business decision maker, yet all his history points to that being inaccurate.

The first post here Starts with this is all speculation, and that's it, none of it passes the test of reality.

Teams took weeks to hire a head coach but Mayo not hiring an OC means people don't want the job? That makes no sense.
Everyone knows Demarcus is highly likely going to be DC, yet not hired yet because you need to take the time to thoroughly review each possible candidate.

All 32 OC positions in the NFL are good jobs and what better job than taking over with a first round QB and money to pay a free agent WR AND coming off a year with one of the worst offensive teams in the league. You are going to look good in comparison to 2023, it will help anyone's career coming here now. You'll be known as the guy that fixed the broken offense.

SO:
NO, they were never going to go with Vrabel or Harbaugh over Mayo
NO, the reason they have not hired an OC has nothing to do with it not being viewed as a good job.
NO, franchise is not rock bottom, as Vrabel clearly pointed out the ownership and environment is excellent.

I guess we've reached the point in the off season where speculation goes wild. Yay!

Right, the team today doesn't look so good right now but this year they have the #3 pick and a ton of money for free agents, with the right pick and signings this team can move up pretty quick. At least Bill didn't leave the team with no money to spend.

 

[venecol]

I keep wondering why so many keep coming up with all these
- ‘ pure speculatoon’
- ‘it’s just a guess’
-‘ I think he felt’
’RK believed’ [like we can know this’
-other tinfoil-hat conspiracies

all the while RK held a press conference and gave us an answer; why don’t we want to just believe it and instead make **** up? Is it just to see our own posts [I mean that is the point of this place, but …,,]?


RK said: I’ve been around him off-on for 17 (?) years and I had a gut feeling … the same I had and ignored when I let BB get away the first time.

Great comprehensive article about Mayo and why just looking at his 5 years of coaching is naive.

 

[venecol]

There is no real evidence Kraft preferred Vrabel over Mayo. What Kraft has repeatedly said is Mayo was the guy, has special qualities and was always the guy. He's not stupid, he put into a contract he'd be the next guy because he believed he was a special coach. Thinking he regrets putting that in the contract or would have hired Vrabel if it wasn't means Kraft is a poor businessman and business decision maker, yet all his history points to that being inaccurate.

The first post here Starts with this is all speculation, and that's it, none of it passes the test of reality.

Teams took weeks to hire a head coach but Mayo not hiring an OC means people don't want the job? That makes no sense.
Everyone knows Demarcus is highly likely going to be DC, yet not hired yet because you need to take the time to thoroughly review each possible candidate.

All 32 OC positions in the NFL are good jobs and what better job than taking over with a first round QB and money to pay a free agent WR AND coming off a year with one of the worst offensive teams in the league. You are going to look good in comparison to 2023, it will help anyone's career coming here now. You'll be known as the guy that fixed the broken offense.

SO:
NO, they were never going to go with Vrabel or Harbaugh over Mayo
NO, the reason they have not hired an OC has nothing to do with it not being viewed as a good job.
NO, franchise is not rock bottom, as Vrabel clearly pointed out the ownership and environment is excellent.

I guess we've reached the point in the off season where speculation goes wild. Yay!

100%

You have the same clowns that have been wrong the last 4 years about EVERYTHING trying to tell us more BS. Yea right, lol.

 

[Sam Bam Cunningham]

All 3 could be true

1. Kraft really liked Mayo as a person and a leader
2. He planned for a seamless transition
3. Part of reason for # 2 is he knew the team might be in the dumpster and that coaching opportunities with pats in short term might not be attractive to top tier candidates due to no qb and no OL and no skill players

Might also explain the slow movement on OC and DC. Also no big and established names for team thst is years away from contending

 

[TommyD4207]

Speculation on my part.

BB left this team so depleted of talent on the offensive side that Kraft was likely worried that opening the coach search to top tier external candidates would risk the embarrassment of being turned down. That would not be a good look for the franchise.
To avoid this risk he simply promoted from within someone he knew with 100% certainty would take the job. Even Vrabel was not a sure thing to accept the job. I had hoped that Vrabel or Harbaugh would have at least been interviewed. My hunch is that Kraft knew that neither was interested before he fired Bill.

I believe this is also the issue with Mayo finding an OC. There have been few candidates interviewed so far and as Jeff Howe mentioned, the Patriots OC position is not viewed as a desirable one for the top tier candidates. If it were viewed as a good job, Mayo would have hired someone. Now the Pats are left hoping that McDaniels has no other options and falls to them as a last resort.

The franchise is at rock bottom and the best candidates out there know this. The next year is going to be an extremely bumpy road for an OC. I honestly believe that Josh is the best that the Pats can hope for.
Sad what has happened to this franchise.

There's a very easy answer to your question in the thread title.
It was in his contract.