Optum, Israel, and Mayo's Way: A Swindler's Journey.

[Brotherblues]

Chronicle of Mayo’s post-playing career, told by his own and Robert Kraft’s quotes (all quotes are pulled from Mayo puff pieces):

His hiring as Vice President of Business Development at Optum:
"Half of it is all about relationships in business," Mayo said. "A lot is about relationships. They told me pretty much I can dibble and dabble and learn what I want to learn. I want to learn about mergers and acquisitions and things like that."

Translation: He was hired to a high position because of “relationships” and was told he could learn at his own pace dibbling and dabbling here and there. Sound familiar already?

How the Optun job went:
“I ended up joining the board of Boston Medical Center, joining Optum,” said Mayo. “I was just like, "I'm all in." Because what, I am not good enough. And I would be in meetings, and I'm like, "Man, I don't understand anything they're saying." “

Translation: Do we need to translate “I don’t understand anything they’re saying,” coming from a board member talking about board meetings? This is a pattern.

His most notable / only "positive" anecdote I can find from that job:
“So, at Optum, we go into this huge sales meeting or whatever,” Mayo said. “It's all 60-year-old white men out there. And I'm like, "This is not right." He spoke up and was afterwards congratulated to much fanfare.

Translation: He can’t recall what the meeting was about, despite it being huge for the company, calling it “sales or whatever.” The one guy who knew nothing about the business stood up and said it ain’t right for everyone else to have their jobs.

Greasing up billionaires, other than Kraft:
“Like I remember being at Saratoga in a horse race, right?” said Mayo. “And Seth Klarman, he runs Baupost, right? Seth Klarman is sitting over at this table. And I tell my wife, I'm like, "That's Seth Klarman." I'm a huge fan, huge fan. And I was like, "I'm going over there to introduce myself." And I walked over there, and I was like, "Hey, Jerod Mayo, blah, blah, blah.” And then, he gave me his card, ended up going to his office, having great conversation.”

Translation: He can’t see a billionaire without immediately trying to go and be buddy-buddy in the guy’s face. Again, this is a pattern.

Greasing Kraft after retiring as a player:
“We stayed in touch,” Kraft said. “He reached out to me. We had dinners. It’s just a unique relationship.”

Translation: It’s a “unique” relationship because former players don’t go on regular dinner dates with their billionaire former boss, especially while stroking their egos with power-evoking nicknames like Thunder.

Targeting Kraft’s spirituality:
“We went to a lot of special places. I remember his reaction when he got baptized in the Jordan River. I saw a sign of spirituality,” Kraft said. “I could tell that moment was special.”

Translation: A memorable and inspirational show for his baptism that happens to hit Kraft’s biggest emotional and spiritual weak spots. This isn’t a coincidence, not with the patterns we’ve seen with him so far.

The airport forum and the decision to make him HC before he was even an assistant:
“The main thing, we’re at the airport getting ready to leave, and there was a big delay. So we had all of these guys sitting around,” Kraft explained. “Then Jerod organized a meeting with a forum and held a discussion on the trip. He did it all on his own.
“And at that moment, I saw the initiative and the way people respected him. And I said to myself: ‘He’s going to be our next head coach.’”

Translation: He once again targets Bob Kraft’s strongest religious beliefs and emotional weak spots, holding a forum about the meaning and importance of Kraft's yearly Israel trip. The ploy worked as Kraft decided then and there, all by himself with no counsel, that Mayo was his next HC. This was before Mayo had even coached a single day of training camp as an assistant.

I'm not even going to get into his quotes since he took over as Pats HC. That would take weeks of work.

Twice in this story Mayo was hired to a high position he had not earned and knew nothing about, with the expectation that he could wing it and learn on the fly. And in both instances he has provided ample evidence he is lost on these jobs. A talent for talking himself through the door is of no use once the actual work begins. Kraft was swindled, plain and simple.

 

[archstanton543]

Yeah, this is going to be an easy "Ignore" from me.

 

[Froob]

This would feel more valid if he wasnt in on other jobs..

Jay Glazer's insight bodes well for Jerod Mayo's coaching aspirations

How likely is it that Jerod Mayo lands an NFL head coach job soon? FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer shared one strong review of the Patriots assistant to Phil Perry on a new Next Pats Podcast.

www.nbcsportsboston.com

Popular Patriots: Jerod Mayo Gets Head-Coaching Interview

Both Cleveland and Carolina are considering New England's defensive assistant for openings this offseason.

www.si.com

 

[Boomer B]

This needed its own thread? Couldn’t have slid it into one of the many Mayo threads?

 

[captain stone]

I posted this before, but it got buried in another thread. I cleaned it up and I'm reposting in answer to the numerous people (many of whom I like, such as patfanKen), who speak of Mayo deserving 2 years as the fair thing to give him.
------
Chronicle of Mayo’s post-playing career, told by his own and Robert Kraft’s quotes (all quotes are pulled from Mayo puff pieces):

His hiring as Vice President of Business Development at Optum:
"Half of it is all about relationships in business," Mayo said. "A lot is about relationships. They told me pretty much I can dibble and dabble and learn what I want to learn. I want to learn about mergers and acquisitions and things like that."

Translation: He was hired to a high position because of “relationships” and was told he could learn at his own pace dibbling and dabbling here and there. Sound familiar already?

How the Optun job went:
“I ended up joining the board of Boston Medical Center, joining Optum,” said Mayo. “I was just like, "I'm all in." Because what, I am not good enough. And I would be in meetings, and I'm like, "Man, I don't understand anything they're saying." “

Translation: Do we need to translate “I don’t understand anything they’re saying,” coming from a board member talking about board meetings? This is a pattern.

His most notable / only "positive" anecdote I can find from that job:
“So, at Optum, we go into this huge sales meeting or whatever,” Mayo said. “It's all 60-year-old white men out there. And I'm like, "This is not right." He spoke up and was afterwards congratulated to much fanfare.

Translation: He can’t recall what the meeting was about, despite it being huge for the company, calling it “sales or whatever.” The one guy who knew nothing about the business stood up and said it ain’t right for everyone else to have their jobs.

Greasing up billionaires, other than Kraft:
“Like I remember being at Saratoga in a horse race, right?” said Mayo. “And Seth Klarman, he runs Baupost, right? Seth Klarman is sitting over at this table. And I tell my wife, I'm like, "That's Seth Klarman." I'm a huge fan, huge fan. And I was like, "I'm going over there to introduce myself." And I walked over there, and I was like, "Hey, Jerod Mayo, blah, blah, blah.” And then, he gave me his card, ended up going to his office, having great conversation.”

Translation: He can’t see a billionaire without immediately trying to go and be buddy-buddy in the guy’s face. Again, this is a pattern.

Greasing Kraft after retiring as a player:
“We stayed in touch,” Kraft said. “He reached out to me. We had dinners. It’s just a unique relationship.”

Translation: It’s a “unique” relationship because former players don’t go on regular dinner dates with their billionaire former boss, especially while stroking their egos with power-evoking nicknames like Thunder.

Targeting Kraft’s spirituality:
“We went to a lot of special places. I remember his reaction when he got baptized in the Jordan River. I saw a sign of spirituality,” Kraft said. “I could tell that moment was special.”

Translation: A memorable and inspirational show for his baptism that happens to hit Kraft’s biggest emotional and spiritual weak spots. This isn’t a coincidence, not with the patterns we’ve seen with him so far.

The airport forum and the decision to make him HC before he was even an assistant:
“The main thing, we’re at the airport getting ready to leave, and there was a big delay. So we had all of these guys sitting around,” Kraft explained. “Then Jerod organized a meeting with a forum and held a discussion on the trip. He did it all on his own.
“And at that moment, I saw the initiative and the way people respected him. And I said to myself: ‘He’s going to be our next head coach.’”

Translation: He once again targets Bob Kraft’s strongest religious beliefs and emotional weak spots, holding a forum about the meaning and importance of Kraft's yearly Israel trip. The ploy worked as Kraft decided then and there, all by himself with no counsel, that Mayo was his next HC. This was before Mayo had even coached a single day of training camp as an assistant.

I'm not even going to get into his quotes since he took over as Pats HC. That would take weeks of work.

Twice in this story Mayo was hired to a high position he had not earned and knew nothing about, with the expectation that he could wing it and learn on the fly. And in both instances he has provided ample evidence he is lost on these jobs. A talent for talking himself through the door is of no use once the actual work begins. Kraft was swindled, plain and simple.

Blow it up, Jonathan. ALL of it.

Time is of the Essence.

 

[borg]

This would feel more valid if he wasnt in on other jobs..

"In on other jobs" just like all the other Rooney Rule "candidates"

 

[Froob]

"In on other jobs" just like all the other Rooney Rule "candidates"

"They called me about it, and I said, 'If he really blew you out of the water that much, don't make a mistake and whiff on him,'" Glazer said. "The Dolphins did that with Mike Tomlin. 'Oh, we want an offensive coach.' That's what the Eagles said: 'We want an offensive coach.'

"Man, the Dolphins could have been sound and secure for a long time if they just went with the best guy to lead their team. Mayo blew people out of the water."

If Mayo continues to impress other teams in his pursuit of a head coach gig, he'll reach his goal in the near future, says Glazer.

"I don't know if it's next offseason, but he'll get (a head coach job), yeah," Glazer told Perry.

 

[ahmed]

A lot of Mayo bashing threads you can join in on without adding a new one.

 

[borg]

"They called me about it, and I said, 'If he really blew you out of the water that much, don't make a mistake and whiff on him,'" Glazer said. "The Dolphins did that with Mike Tomlin. 'Oh, we want an offensive coach.' That's what the Eagles said: 'We want an offensive coach.'

"Man, the Dolphins could have been sound and secure for a long time if they just went with the best guy to lead their team. Mayo blew people out of the water."

If Mayo continues to impress other teams in his pursuit of a head coach gig, he'll reach his goal in the near future, says Glazer.

"I don't know if it's next offseason, but he'll get (a head coach job), yeah," Glazer told Perry.

"He was so awesome, we didn't hire him"

"We'll take another look after he calls an actual play in the NFL"

"We liked him, but he is so wedged up Kraft's sphincter we knew we couldn't dislodge him"

 

[Brotherblues]

A lot of Mayo bashing threads you can join in on without adding a new one.

It's an exposition on his trayectory. I feel that it tells a compelling story of who the man is, and how he got here. And it's different from what is said in other threads, which focuses mostly on 2024.

My input is minimal. The quotes straight from Mayo and Kraft tell the tale clearly enough all on their own. Calling it bashing is saying Mayo and Kraft are bashing themselves.

If these quotes paint a different picture for you than me, I'll be glad to read your take. I don't come to the forum to fight anyone. 2.5k posts without any of that and I'm not going to start now. When I say I want to hear your take, I mean it genuinely with no anymosity.

 

[Calhoun44]

It's an exposition on his trayectory. I feel that it tells a compelling story of who the man is, and how he got here. And it's different from what is said in other threads, which focuses mostly on 2024.

My input is minimal. The quotes straight from Mayo and Kraft tell the tale clearly enough all on their own. Calling it bashing is saying Mayo and Kraft are bashing themselves.

If these quotes paint a different picture for you than me, I'll be glad to read your take. I don't come to the forum to fight anyone. 2.5k posts without any of that and I'm not going to start now. When I say I want to hear your take, I mean it genuinely with no anymosity.

If you really meant to be neutral, you probably shouldn't have called the thread "...: A Swindler's Journey". Just saying.

 

[farn]

If you really meant to be neutral, you probably shouldn't have called the thread "...: A Swindler's Journey". Just saying.

You, sir, made me chuckle with this post. This is gold.

 

[PancakeBlockPaul]

I posted this before, but it got buried in another thread. I cleaned it up and I'm reposting in answer to the numerous people (many of whom I like, such as patfanKen), who speak of Mayo deserving 2 years as the fair thing to give him.
------
Chronicle of Mayo’s post-playing career, told by his own and Robert Kraft’s quotes (all quotes are pulled from Mayo puff pieces):

His hiring as Vice President of Business Development at Optum:
"Half of it is all about relationships in business," Mayo said. "A lot is about relationships. They told me pretty much I can dibble and dabble and learn what I want to learn. I want to learn about mergers and acquisitions and things like that."

Translation: He was hired to a high position because of “relationships” and was told he could learn at his own pace dibbling and dabbling here and there. Sound familiar already?

How the Optun job went:
“I ended up joining the board of Boston Medical Center, joining Optum,” said Mayo. “I was just like, "I'm all in." Because what, I am not good enough. And I would be in meetings, and I'm like, "Man, I don't understand anything they're saying." “

Translation: Do we need to translate “I don’t understand anything they’re saying,” coming from a board member talking about board meetings? This is a pattern.

His most notable / only "positive" anecdote I can find from that job:
“So, at Optum, we go into this huge sales meeting or whatever,” Mayo said. “It's all 60-year-old white men out there. And I'm like, "This is not right." He spoke up and was afterwards congratulated to much fanfare.

Translation: He can’t recall what the meeting was about, despite it being huge for the company, calling it “sales or whatever.” The one guy who knew nothing about the business stood up and said it ain’t right for everyone else to have their jobs.

Greasing up billionaires, other than Kraft:
“Like I remember being at Saratoga in a horse race, right?” said Mayo. “And Seth Klarman, he runs Baupost, right? Seth Klarman is sitting over at this table. And I tell my wife, I'm like, "That's Seth Klarman." I'm a huge fan, huge fan. And I was like, "I'm going over there to introduce myself." And I walked over there, and I was like, "Hey, Jerod Mayo, blah, blah, blah.” And then, he gave me his card, ended up going to his office, having great conversation.”

Translation: He can’t see a billionaire without immediately trying to go and be buddy-buddy in the guy’s face. Again, this is a pattern.

Greasing Kraft after retiring as a player:
“We stayed in touch,” Kraft said. “He reached out to me. We had dinners. It’s just a unique relationship.”

Translation: It’s a “unique” relationship because former players don’t go on regular dinner dates with their billionaire former boss, especially while stroking their egos with power-evoking nicknames like Thunder.

Targeting Kraft’s spirituality:
“We went to a lot of special places. I remember his reaction when he got baptized in the Jordan River. I saw a sign of spirituality,” Kraft said. “I could tell that moment was special.”

Translation: A memorable and inspirational show for his baptism that happens to hit Kraft’s biggest emotional and spiritual weak spots. This isn’t a coincidence, not with the patterns we’ve seen with him so far.

The airport forum and the decision to make him HC before he was even an assistant:
“The main thing, we’re at the airport getting ready to leave, and there was a big delay. So we had all of these guys sitting around,” Kraft explained. “Then Jerod organized a meeting with a forum and held a discussion on the trip. He did it all on his own.
“And at that moment, I saw the initiative and the way people respected him. And I said to myself: ‘He’s going to be our next head coach.’”

Translation: He once again targets Bob Kraft’s strongest religious beliefs and emotional weak spots, holding a forum about the meaning and importance of Kraft's yearly Israel trip. The ploy worked as Kraft decided then and there, all by himself with no counsel, that Mayo was his next HC. This was before Mayo had even coached a single day of training camp as an assistant.

I'm not even going to get into his quotes since he took over as Pats HC. That would take weeks of work.

Twice in this story Mayo was hired to a high position he had not earned and knew nothing about, with the expectation that he could wing it and learn on the fly. And in both instances he has provided ample evidence he is lost on these jobs. A talent for talking himself through the door is of no use once the actual work begins. Kraft was swindled, plain and simple.

TLDR: I agree with how this looks like Mayo was just hired because of cronyism but he need to be given leeway/time to be successful. His Optum hiring looks like it was done due to celebrity, nothing else.

Apologies for the book...I have been doing this a lot lately. Shame there isn't a trophy for post word count.... @Ian @Ross12 @jmt57 =)

Brother Blue, I can go along with all of this. But I am with Ken regarding Mayo needing more time. I THINK what Ken has gotten at in his posts regarding this is that when there is someone totally new at a position, whether or not its an HC for a huge organization like an NFL team or if its a new Director at a 5 person real estate co, they would get more time due to them being green. Ownership wants to give him time to be successful. Now did they put him in a position to succeed? Not really. Should he have brought in better people under him? More than likely. These things will improve over time I think. Regarding his hire at Optum, I think it was a hire where they thought his "stardom" may have helped their company out. "We hired an NFL SuperBowl winner and we think he will be good IE bring in more business because of this clout." To be hired at that level with zero experience, in everything literally since he never held a job outside of the NFL, tells me that it was exactly that. He had star power going for him at Optum. Maybe he threw in that he was a Captain and that is what got him the job out of all those candidates with Harvard, Yale, and MIT degrees. : O

As for him slobbing on the billionaire nobs in the rooms during his meetings, I think a lot of people would have done the same thing. If we were in a similar meeting, 99% of us would go over to Kraft and say "Hey, I'm a fan! Nice to meetcha!" then we would have said "What the **** are you doing about your team sucking?!?!?!". As for him being noticed by Thundernob, I think he would have done the same if anyone else had done it, especially if he knew who we were and if we were part of the team. He was just trying to point out a reason he thought Mayo was a good fit. A lame reason, yet a reason. Probably has no other reasons than the ones he has given in interviews, which makes him look like a dolt hiring Mayo like this. We also have to take into account that we never fully see these relationships in person outside of it on TV and reading about it. There could be LOTs reasons why he was hired other than what we know about. Since they had added a clause in his contract to hire him as Bill;s replacement, he must have thought highly of him for years. We can't just go off of what we read about in some more than likely cherry-picked interviews which are more than likely designed to make Kraft look bad (not that he needs anyone to do that).

I tend to play devil's advocate with things I do not experience myself. All that being said, I am for giving Mayo the time he needs to get up to speed with the job. Now I am definitely NOT for giving him free repercussionless reign for the next 5 years though. I am for giving him reasonable time for the rebuild and that would be two years. Anything more is just continuing that agony. My reason for giving him this long is that NOONE with zero experience could turn things around within 7 months to a year. It's just not possible. Look at the man who was the coach of the Dynasty...he went 5-11 his first year with us. AND he had experience! To say Mayo could turn it around with the **** roster he had in 7 months to a year is delusional. In this day and age we expect instant results, but this is a multi-year, massive, and almost impossible task. We have to be patient, as much as it sucks seeing them **** the bed week after week.

Now if things start out next year and they look just like they did this year? He definitely needs to be put on notice that his job is on the line. I am all for sending a warning shot this year if the D doesn't start to look like it's improving. I've said it before and I will say it again, someone should be made an example of if things continue on going like they have been.

Being the first time I have seen those questions/answers you posted, it makes his hiring look like he was hired because he was a crony of Kraft. Trust me, I'm not down with hiring like this OR nepotism (Mayo was hired due to cronyism =)). For ANY job out there, you need to have the experience to get it, not be gifted a job because you are someone's buddy. And I know ALLLL about this since I have had it happen to me several times. There's nothing worse than being passed over for a promotion for someone else who has zero experience and is the boss' coffee gopher boy.

 

[captain stone]

"They called me about it, and I said, 'If he really blew you out of the water that much, don't make a mistake and whiff on him,'" Glazer said. "The Dolphins did that with Mike Tomlin. 'Oh, we want an offensive coach.' That's what the Eagles said: 'We want an offensive coach.'

"Man, the Dolphins could have been sound and secure for a long time if they just went with the best guy to lead their team. Mayo blew people out of the water."

If Mayo continues to impress other teams in his pursuit of a head coach gig, he'll reach his goal in the near future, says Glazer.

"I don't know if it's next offseason, but he'll get (a head coach job), yeah," Glazer told Perry.

Yeah that ain't happening now... If it ever was gonna, anyway.

 

[Tunescribe]

This would feel more valid if he wasnt in on other jobs..

Jay Glazer's insight bodes well for Jerod Mayo's coaching aspirations

How likely is it that Jerod Mayo lands an NFL head coach job soon? FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer shared one strong review of the Patriots assistant to Phil Perry on a new Next Pats Podcast.

www.nbcsportsboston.com

Popular Patriots: Jerod Mayo Gets Head-Coaching Interview

Both Cleveland and Carolina are considering New England's defensive assistant for openings this offseason.

www.si.com

Two words: Rooney Rule.

And let's not forget this grossly ingratiating "Young Thundercat" nonsense.

Why does Jerod Mayo call Robert Kraft ‘Young Thundercat?’

When Jerod Mayo talks about Robert Kraft, it’s not “Robert” or “Mr. Kraft." No, it’s “Thunder.”

www.masslive.com

 

[Lavictoire]

Cronyism and celebrity maybe but he also checks the DEI box.

 

[Patsfan1645]

My big issue is I keep hearing we have to give him time as its his first year as HC, he has a new coaching staff, he was left with what old leadership left in the desk drawers before vacating. That's all true but what is the sticking point to me is he shouldn't have been hired as the HC in the first place because he has no real experience on that level and was under the leadership of BB who I am sure is a micromanager. He needed to prove himself outside of Foxborough. It's like giving a 16 year old his drivers license and then telling him practice your driving because next week your racing Daytona.

 

[Brotherblues]

If you really meant to be neutral, you probably shouldn't have called the thread "...: A Swindler's Journey". Just saying.

Thanks. My conclusion is not neutral, or it'd be inconclusive. Just judging someone based on their own actions and spoken words. I see Mayo's journey as that of a major swindler at every step, and expressed my point the best I could using mostly Mayo's and Kraft's own quotes.

Would you refute that conclusion?

 

[Tunescribe]

Thanks. My conclusion is not neutral, or it'd be inconclusive. Just judging someone based on their own actions and spoken words. I see Mayo's journey as that of a major swindler at every step, and expressed my point the best I could using mostly Mayo's and Kraft's own quotes.

Would you refute that conclusion?

I don't see Mayo as intentionally out to deceive others as much as deceiving himself into believing he's more than he is, Others enabled that, giving us the proverbial emperor with no clothes.

Like many star athletes Jerod Mayo never has lived in the real world, or forced to learn firsthand that emotional willpower is no golden ticket. He is charismatic, inspirational and has leadership qualities. He is smart, to a degree, but has not demonstrated the wide-ranging/multifaceted football acumen required of an NFL head coach. How could he, with such limited coaching experience?

Right now, Mayo should be learning under an experienced HC how to be a good defensive coordinator. No way in hell should he be within miles of actually running a program, ESPECIALLY one that needs rebuilding from the ground-up.

 

[turkeyneck]

I don't see Mayo as intentionally out to deceive others as much as deceiving himself into believing he's more than he is, Others enabled that, giving us the proverbial emperor with no clothes.

Like many star athletes Jerod Mayo never has lived in the real world, forced to learn firsthand that emotional willpower is no golden ticket. He is charismatic, inspirational and has leadership qualities. He is smart, to a degree, but has not demonstrated the wide-ranging/multifaceted football acumen required of an NFL head coach. How could he, with such limited coaching experience?

Right now, Mayo should be learning under an experienced HC how to be a good defensive coordinator. No way in hell should he be within miles of actually running a program, ESPECIALLY one that needs rebuilding from the ground-up.

This is pretty much on target. I'd quibble about the one sentence about his qualities. If he was a leader he would have followers; I don't see anyone following him. The team seems more like a herd of cats (easy there , @SammyBlueCat ...). His big problem is he skipped too many steps coming into the coaching profession and now is in a position way over his head, not even knowing what he doesn't know.