This is half facts and half make believe. I wonder if you cleverly weave the two, or are confused.
The only "rumor" is the Malcolm one. The rest are facts or things you can surmise from watching and reading about the team. We know we're not getting any reports coming out of the Foxboro vault, so you do your best to put things together based on multiple sources and experience. I worked for an Engineering firm rife with nepotism. Nobody respected the Owners son and he was a PE.
If Mayo leaves (likely) it'll be interesting to see if Bill elevates Lil Stephen to DC after conducting Rooney Rule interviews. My guess is it doesn't happen.
As to the generational gap between Bill and the players:
“[Bill Belichick] prepares for everything. He prepares for the weather, he prepares for where the sun’s going to be at a certain time … he’s the ultimate, when it comes to preparation,” Mayo told us. “And that goes right back to the military. But I’m not Bill, I don’t try to be Bill. I’m from a different generation. I do coach hard,
but I understand players now are different. I think Coach understands that, too, and that’s why he keeps younger coaches around him. There needs to be diversity of thought and diversity of people."
And this from a Feb '22 interview (1:20 mark):
"And I would say Bill has evolved from when I was a player until now, obviously the players are different than they were back then."
Mayo is well spoken and comes across as a likeable dude with charisma. I can see the players respecting him and why they rave about his leadership.
New England Patriots inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo discusses head coach interviews, influence of Bill Belichick, Tom Brady's retirement and more.
www.patriots.com
Now contrast how a young black player perceives Mayo with this: