The One Benefit of the "Year of Mayo"

[Pape]

This is going to delve into some dangerous territory because, well, I had to think about what positives came from this past season...

and by positives, I don't mean players... we all know Drake Maye looked decent... room for improvement, sure, but the overall I'm happy...

The major positive I see coming from this past year is it is forcing the Krafts to redress how the franchise is run... It had to knock some sense into them that its not always going to be an easy road... we were blessed having the Ultimate Storm coalesce in New England, where the team was able to ride those winds roughshod over the league for nearly two decades... The Coach laid the base, and the Players we had, well, what they did on the field has been underappreciated for lack of a better term...

This might not be accurate, its is my opinion, ymmv... The team was able to create a dynamic in the front office, putting in place a system that stressed fiscal responsibility... I think the front office was able to formulate a percentage of what they were willing to pay for a particular player based their role, etc... sometimes they broke free of the system they had in place, paying certain guys... but for only so long... soon they were moved out, traded, released, etc and the financial bounds were reestablished... The staff was whittled down the the bare minimum... If the Coach/GM could wear multiple hats, so could everyone else... This only worked because of Belichick and his ability to thrive in such an environment... It became so insular; when Belichick faltered, the death spiral began... It was hidden for a few years, but most here have pointed out the failures in the draft over an extended period, the lack of quality free agent signings, etc...

Mayo was particuarly unsuited to deal with the Franchise gripped in its death throes... the lack of front office support, the limited talent on the roster, the limited talent available for the assistant coaching positions... The Krafts began expanding the front office last year... Hopefully, they have learned, its not enough... that they need to increase the support staff inside One Patriot Place... In a few of the articles disecting what went wrong this year, it was mentioned just how small the Patriots support staff is compared to other NFL franchises...

The new coaching search this year is also a step forward... The team has realized that they need to conduct a full blown coaching search in however many decades its been since they actually did one... I don't think the Krafts ever ran a full blown search... Tuna was here when they bought the team... they replaced him with Pete fairly quickly iirc... my memory might be faulty on that one, so let me know if i got it wr-wr-wr- incorrect... Belichick was brought in courtesy of his past relationship with Kraft, when he was here with Tuna... It was good to see Kraft step up and admit a mistake was made with Mayo... and now another step forward, going on with a full blown coaching search...

Got a good feeling about the future of the team moving forward... next year will still be a rough year, but I think we will begin to see progress over the course of the season, something we did not see this year... Looking forward to a better 2025...

 

[Huckleberry1]

This is going to delve into some dangerous territory because, well, I had to think about what positives came from this past season...

and by positives, I don't mean players... we all know Drake Maye looked decent... room for improvement, sure, but the overall I'm happy...

The major positive I see coming from this past year is it is forcing the Krafts to redress how the franchise is run... It had to knock some sense into them that its not always going to be an easy road... we were blessed having the Ultimate Storm coalesce in New England, where the team was able to ride those winds roughshod over the league for nearly two decades... The Coach laid the base, and the Players we had, well, what they did on the field has been underappreciated for lack of a better term...

This might not be accurate, its is my opinion, ymmv... The team was able to create a dynamic in the front office, putting in place a system that stressed fiscal responsibility... I think the front office was able to formulate a percentage of what they were willing to pay for a particular player based their role, etc... sometimes they broke free of the system they had in place, paying certain guys... but for only so long... soon they were moved out, traded, released, etc and the financial bounds were reestablished... The staff was whittled down the the bare minimum... If the Coach/GM could wear multiple hats, so could everyone else... This only worked because of Belichick and his ability to thrive in such an environment... It because so insular; when Belichick faltered, the death spiral began... It was hidden for a few years, but most here have pointed out the failures in the draft over an extended period, the lack of quality free agent signings, etc...

Mayo was particuarly unsuited to deal with the Franchise gripped in its death throes... the lack of front office support, the limited talent on the roster, the limited talent available for the assistant coaching positions... The Krafts began expanding the front office last year... Hopefully, they have learned, its not enough... that they need to increase the support staff inside One Patriot Place... In a few of the articles disecting what went wrong this year, it was mentioned just how small the Patriots support staff is compared to other NFL franchises...

The new coaching search this year is also a step forward... The team has realized that they need to conduct a full blown coaching search in however many decades its been since they actually did one... I don't think the Krafts ever ran a full blown search... Tuna was here when they bought the team... they replaced him with Pete fairly quickly iirc... my memory might be faulty on that one, so let me know if i got it wr-wr-wr- incorrect... Belichick was brought in courtesy of his past relationship with Kraft, when he was here with Tuna... It was good to see Kraft step up and admit a mistake was made with Mayo... and now another step forward, going on with a full blown coaching search...

Got a good feeling about the future of the team moving forward... next year will still be a rough year, but I think we will begin to see progress over the course, something we did not see this year... Looking forward to a better 2025...

Good post, nicely done.

 

[Triumph]

More Kraft involvement does not equate to future success.

The Pats could be the next Dallas Cowboys.

 

[jmt57]

This is going to delve into some dangerous territory because, well, I had to think about what positives came from this past season...

and by positives, I don't mean players... we all know Drake Maye looked decent... room for improvement, sure, but the overall I'm happy...

The major positive I see coming from this past year is it is forcing the Krafts to redress how the franchise is run... It had to knock some sense into them that its not always going to be an easy road... we were blessed having the Ultimate Storm coalesce in New England, where the team was able to ride those winds roughshod over the league for nearly two decades... The Coach laid the base, and the Players we had, well, what they did on the field has been underappreciated for lack of a better term...

This might not be accurate, its is my opinion, ymmv... The team was able to create a dynamic in the front office, putting in place a system that stressed fiscal responsibility... I think the front office was able to formulate a percentage of what they were willing to pay for a particular player based their role, etc... sometimes they broke free of the system they had in place, paying certain guys... but for only so long... soon they were moved out, traded, released, etc and the financial bounds were reestablished... The staff was whittled down the the bare minimum... If the Coach/GM could wear multiple hats, so could everyone else... This only worked because of Belichick and his ability to thrive in such an environment... It became so insular; when Belichick faltered, the death spiral began... It was hidden for a few years, but most here have pointed out the failures in the draft over an extended period, the lack of quality free agent signings, etc...

Mayo was particuarly unsuited to deal with the Franchise gripped in its death throes... the lack of front office support, the limited talent on the roster, the limited talent available for the assistant coaching positions... The Krafts began expanding the front office last year... Hopefully, they have learned, its not enough... that they need to increase the support staff inside One Patriot Place... In a few of the articles disecting what went wrong this year, it was mentioned just how small the Patriots support staff is compared to other NFL franchises...

The new coaching search this year is also a step forward... The team has realized that they need to conduct a full blown coaching search in however many decades its been since they actually did one... I don't think the Krafts ever ran a full blown search... Tuna was here when they bought the team... they replaced him with Pete fairly quickly iirc... my memory might be faulty on that one, so let me know if i got it wr-wr-wr- incorrect... Belichick was brought in courtesy of his past relationship with Kraft, when he was here with Tuna... It was good to see Kraft step up and admit a mistake was made with Mayo... and now another step forward, going on with a full blown coaching search...

Got a good feeling about the future of the team moving forward... next year will still be a rough year, but I think we will begin to see progress over the course of the season, something we did not see this year... Looking forward to a better 2025...

Well said.

I hope you are correct. My fear is that the Krafts will respond by thinking 'we let Bill handle everything for two decades; he is gone, so we need to become far more involved in the football operations, more hands on'. People who are not experts deciding to micro-manage an enterprise never ends well.

@Force Zero Boomer wrote in another thread about Jerod Mayo being the epitome of the Dunning-Kruger effect. I am concerned that something similar will happen with the Krafts. Specifically, that they may respond by believing that their wealth means they are the smartest people in the room, and that because they are the smartest people in the room, they should therefore increase the number of football-related decisions that they make - decisions that would otherwise be made by a President of Football Operations or even a General Manager.


There have been some people here that hope that the Patriots hire Ray Agnew, the Lions assistant general manager. Now look at Detroit's front office, and see how many people are above Agnew, just on the football side of operations. The family owners stay in their lane on the business side of operations, and let the many experienced football people run the football operations.

Detroit Lions Admin | Detroit Lions - DetroitLions.com

The polar opposite is the Carolina Panthers, where owner David Tepper's wife, who has the title of 'Chief Administrative Officer', was actively participating in the team's player selection while in the club's war room on draft day, after he asked for her input.

https://athlonsports.com/nfl/fans-in-disbelief-over-video-of-nfl-owners-wife-assisting-with-draft-picks

So which route are the Krafts going to take?
Are they smart enough to know when to step aside and let the experts do their thing?
Or do they think they are smarter than everybody else?

 

[Pape]

More Kraft involvement does not equate to future success.

The Pats could be the next Dallas Cowboys.

I understand that... I am hoping that the realize that they need to revamp the way they do things... To modernize the team in terms of the front office, staff, scouting... If they learn this lesson, I think we will be alright

 

[Pape]

So which route are the Krafts going to take?
Are they smart enough to know when to step aside and let the experts do their thing?
Or do they think they are smarter than everybody else?

The fact that they have engaged in an all out coaching search, and not just jumping on "their hunch" makes it easier for me to believe they will move in the right direction...

least i hope so...

 

[archstanton543]

Well said.

I hope you are correct. My fear is that the Krafts will respond by thinking 'we let Bill handle everything for two decades; he is gone, so we need to become far more involved in the football operations, more hands on'. People who are not experts deciding to micro-manage an enterprise never ends well.

@Force Zero Boomer wrote in another thread about Jerod Mayo being the epitome of the Dunning-Kruger effect. I am concerned that something similar will happen with the Krafts. Specifically, that they may respond by believing that their wealth means they are the smartest people in the room, and that because they are the smartest people in the room, they should therefore increase the number of football-related decisions that they make - decisions that would otherwise be made by a President of Football Operations or even a General Manager.


There have been some people here that hope that the Patriots hire Ray Agnew, the Lions assistant general manager. Now look at Detroit's front office, and see how many people are above Agnew, just on the football side of operations. The family owners stay in their lane on the business side of operations, and let the many experienced football people run the football operations.

Detroit Lions Admin | Detroit Lions - DetroitLions.com

The polar opposite is the Carolina Panthers, where owner David Tepper's wife, who has the title of 'Chief Administrative Officer', was actively participating in the team's player selection while in the club's war room on draft day, after he asked for her input.

https://athlonsports.com/nfl/fans-in-disbelief-over-video-of-nfl-owners-wife-assisting-with-draft-picks

So which route are the Krafts going to take?
Are they smart enough to know when to step aside and let the experts do their thing?
Or do they think they are smarter than everybody else?

They've been running a pro football team for well over 30 years now. They have a bunch of other successful businesses too. They're not morons. Was Bob dumb for putting in a succession clause in Mayo's contract? Yup, but he also ripped off the band-aid quickly and is conducting a full HC search.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

They've been running a pro football team for well over 30 years now. They have a bunch of other successful businesses too. They're not morons. Was Bob dumb for putting in a succession clause in Mayo's contract? Yup, but he also ripped off the band-aid quickly and is conducting a full HC search.

To be fair, Kraft had known Mayo for over a decade at that point. Hell, he even had a plan (which went sideways) for Mayo to be mentored by Belichick for two years when he put that clause in.

 

[The Gr8est]

This is going to delve into some dangerous territory because, well, I had to think about what positives came from this past season...

and by positives, I don't mean players... we all know Drake Maye looked decent... room for improvement, sure, but the overall I'm happy...

The major positive I see coming from this past year is it is forcing the Krafts to redress how the franchise is run... It had to knock some sense into them that its not always going to be an easy road... we were blessed having the Ultimate Storm coalesce in New England, where the team was able to ride those winds roughshod over the league for nearly two decades... The Coach laid the base, and the Players we had, well, what they did on the field has been underappreciated for lack of a better term...

This might not be accurate, its is my opinion, ymmv... The team was able to create a dynamic in the front office, putting in place a system that stressed fiscal responsibility... I think the front office was able to formulate a percentage of what they were willing to pay for a particular player based their role, etc... sometimes they broke free of the system they had in place, paying certain guys... but for only so long... soon they were moved out, traded, released, etc and the financial bounds were reestablished... The staff was whittled down the the bare minimum... If the Coach/GM could wear multiple hats, so could everyone else... This only worked because of Belichick and his ability to thrive in such an environment... It became so insular; when Belichick faltered, the death spiral began... It was hidden for a few years, but most here have pointed out the failures in the draft over an extended period, the lack of quality free agent signings, etc...

Mayo was particuarly unsuited to deal with the Franchise gripped in its death throes... the lack of front office support, the limited talent on the roster, the limited talent available for the assistant coaching positions... The Krafts began expanding the front office last year... Hopefully, they have learned, its not enough... that they need to increase the support staff inside One Patriot Place... In a few of the articles disecting what went wrong this year, it was mentioned just how small the Patriots support staff is compared to other NFL franchises...

The new coaching search this year is also a step forward... The team has realized that they need to conduct a full blown coaching search in however many decades its been since they actually did one... I don't think the Krafts ever ran a full blown search... Tuna was here when they bought the team... they replaced him with Pete fairly quickly iirc... my memory might be faulty on that one, so let me know if i got it wr-wr-wr- incorrect... Belichick was brought in courtesy of his past relationship with Kraft, when he was here with Tuna... It was good to see Kraft step up and admit a mistake was made with Mayo... and now another step forward, going on with a full blown coaching search...

Got a good feeling about the future of the team moving forward... next year will still be a rough year, but I think we will begin to see progress over the course of the season, something we did not see this year... Looking forward to a better 2025...

Last season was excruciating. Not because of the on field performance, but because of the hiring of a totally unqualified and underwhelming choice in Jerod Mayo.

It wasn’t just that he was such a bizarre hire, we were constantly hearing reports that Mayo was expected to be back for next season.

That forced me, and several others here who have mentioned it, to consider not even watching next season. That opinion seemed to rapidly grow towards the end of the season to where it seemed to be the predominant sentiment.

We are now expecting to have a new HC with gravitas so that we fans can feel positive about the team moving forward, even if the W-L record doesn’t reflect it yet.

 

[Pape]

Last season was excruciating. Not because of the on field performance, but because of the hiring of a totally unqualified and underwhelming choice in Jerod Mayo.

It wasn’t just that he was such a bizarre hire, we were constantly hearing reports that Mayo was expected to be back for next season.

That forced me, and several others who who have mentioned it, to consider not even watching next season. That opinion seemed to rapidly grow towards the end of the season to where it seemed to be the predominant sentiment.

We are now expecting to have a new HC with gravitas so that we fans can feel positive about the team moving forward, even if the W-L record doesn’t reflect it yet.

Just hoping for better things

 

[Grogan14]

Best thing that fallout from "the Mayo year" is that the Krafts got a painful lesson in what abysmal failure looks like for an organization.
Poor processes, organizational structures, ill defined hierarchies. broken hiring system and understanding that "relationship manager" does not equate to great leader. Mayo taught them what a terrible leader looks like. So now they will hopefully "do the opposite" as George Costanza said on Seinfeld.

I think Robert is a good businessman and he will learn from the failure and allow for meaningful changes to take place. Most of all

Let the football experts make 99% of football decisions and do not become like Jerry Jones.

 

[borg]

I think Robert is a good businessman and he will learn from the failure and allow for meaningful changes to take place.

I can only recall far too many terrible decisions Kraft has made in the past half dozen years, both personal and football related.
Robert has exceeded his expiration date.

 

[archstanton543]

I can only recall far too many terrible decisions Kraft has made in the past half dozen years, football related and personal as well.
Robert has exceeded his expiration date.

Well yeah. The media only reports the bad stuff and none of the good stuff.

It's why people think things are bad all the time. Bad stuff gets clicks. Good stuff doesn't so it's rarely reported on.

 

[Ross12]

Good take @Pape, I agree - Krafts got a reality check. I think we can see the first positive outcome of this from Bob going to the podium and simply saying "this is on me". You rarely see an owner visibly taking full accountability in that way.

Some questions remain in regards to how the front office will be handled but it's too early to say what will be done, or if what they decide to do is right or wrong. I think their chosen coach will most likely push reforms onto the front office and the Krafts will not push back.

Many are concerned about the Krafts getting more involved but if anything I think this has taught them NOT to do that.

 

[turkeyneck]

Best thing that fallout from "the Mayo year" is that the Krafts got a painful lesson in whet abysmal failure looks like for an organization.
Poor processes, organizational structures, ill defined hierarchies. broken hiring system and understanding that "relationship manager" does not equate to great leader. Mayo taught them what a terrible leader looks like. So now they will hopefully "do the opposite" as George Costanza said on Seinfeld.

I think Robert is a good businessman and he will learn from the failure and allow for meaningful changes to take place. Most of all

Let the football experts make 99% of football decisions and do not become like Jerry Jones.

This ought to turn into a business school case study.

 

[RobertWeathers]

This is going to delve into some dangerous territory because, well, I had to think about what positives came from this past season...

and by positives, I don't mean players... we all know Drake Maye looked decent... room for improvement, sure, but the overall I'm happy...

The major positive I see coming from this past year is it is forcing the Krafts to redress how the franchise is run... It had to knock some sense into them that its not always going to be an easy road... we were blessed having the Ultimate Storm coalesce in New England, where the team was able to ride those winds roughshod over the league for nearly two decades... The Coach laid the base, and the Players we had, well, what they did on the field has been underappreciated for lack of a better term...

This might not be accurate, its is my opinion, ymmv... The team was able to create a dynamic in the front office, putting in place a system that stressed fiscal responsibility... I think the front office was able to formulate a percentage of what they were willing to pay for a particular player based their role, etc... sometimes they broke free of the system they had in place, paying certain guys... but for only so long... soon they were moved out, traded, released, etc and the financial bounds were reestablished... The staff was whittled down the the bare minimum... If the Coach/GM could wear multiple hats, so could everyone else... This only worked because of Belichick and his ability to thrive in such an environment... It became so insular; when Belichick faltered, the death spiral began... It was hidden for a few years, but most here have pointed out the failures in the draft over an extended period, the lack of quality free agent signings, etc...

Mayo was particuarly unsuited to deal with the Franchise gripped in its death throes... the lack of front office support, the limited talent on the roster, the limited talent available for the assistant coaching positions... The Krafts began expanding the front office last year... Hopefully, they have learned, its not enough... that they need to increase the support staff inside One Patriot Place... In a few of the articles disecting what went wrong this year, it was mentioned just how small the Patriots support staff is compared to other NFL franchises...

The new coaching search this year is also a step forward... The team has realized that they need to conduct a full blown coaching search in however many decades its been since they actually did one... I don't think the Krafts ever ran a full blown search... Tuna was here when they bought the team... they replaced him with Pete fairly quickly iirc... my memory might be faulty on that one, so let me know if i got it wr-wr-wr- incorrect... Belichick was brought in courtesy of his past relationship with Kraft, when he was here with Tuna... It was good to see Kraft step up and admit a mistake was made with Mayo... and now another step forward, going on with a full blown coaching search...

Got a good feeling about the future of the team moving forward... next year will still be a rough year, but I think we will begin to see progress over the course of the season, something we did not see this year... Looking forward to a better 2025...

Good post.

Been watching the documentary on Ted Turner on HBOMAX.

Some may recall he owned the Atlanta Braves from the mid 70s to 2007.

In the late 80s, he realized his heavy involvement in player decisions and baseball ops was not helping. He decided to hire people to run define the organization, trust them, and get the hell out of the way as thats how he ran his other businesses. The result was a decades worth of division titles, WS appearances and a championship.

Kraft had it right letting BB run the op until BB was no longer doing a good job but it doesn't mean the model is wrong. Everyone needs to be swimming in the same direction. "Forcing" people to work together when they are not aligned will always be a disaster.

Let's hope he understands that.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Until it translates to wins nothing is fixed

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

They've been running a pro football team for well over 30 years now. They have a bunch of other successful businesses too. They're not morons. Was Bob dumb for putting in a succession clause in Mayo's contract? Yup, but he also ripped off the band-aid quickly and is conducting a full HC search.

Yup, agreed. The Krafts picked Parcells, Carroll, Belichick, and Mayo. They are batting 50%, not a great success story.

 

[Pape]

Yup, agreed. The Krafts picked Parcells, Carroll, Belichick, and Mayo. They are batting 50%, not a great success story.

nix Parcells... he was hired by Orthwein

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

nix Parcells... he was hired by Orthwein

So RK picked three head coaches? Carroll, Belichick, and Mayo? Belichick was a great pick that he held onto too long. Not a great track record.