Yes there HAS to be a chain of command...BUT the only real way a coach can be successful is to "be himself". Mike Vrabel was a "players coach" with the titans, but also stayed to his :LB's mentality and laid down the law fearlessly.
Listen, the only thing that matters for Mayo is will the team follow his program, and that depends on whether the team believes in what he and the staff are doing. Think about this. What do players ultimately want? They want a coach and coaches who bring out the best from them. They have to the believe that the various game plans give them a great chance of winning, and IF they lose believe that if the plans were executed better they would have won. This is the way Bellichick did it. He got his players to believe that every week, REGARDLESS of the other team's strengths, their team's game plans were better than the other teams....at least most of the time. If Mayo can create that belief then players will accept ANY adversity, even losing at first....IF they can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
AND just like in players coaches develop too AND their style has to change to reflect their ever changing rosters and strengths and weaknesses. If I were coaching the Pats for THIS season, positivity would be the mantra. The Pats didn't go nuts and immediately bring on big contracts on older players. This will be a fairly young group. They will all come in understanding that this is a rebuilding program. The goal for THIS team is to see consistent improvement from August to January, in ALL areas of play.
In the isn't what we as fans really want to see this year. I would love to think this is like 2001 where the Pats were selected as the team LEAST likely to win a superbowl over the next 5 seasons, and then proceeded to win 3 in the next 4 years. But more realistically, I think the vast majority of Pats fans will be very happy IF they see things coming together over the course of the season.
THEN as the team matures and grows into a contender, I would hope Mayo changes with it. WHEN this team learns what it takes to win consistently in this league and has created a culture of success, THEN he can be anything he wants to be as long as it isn't fake. Players want consistency over all. They WANT to believe.
We shall see. Could be a great situation, could be a disaster. But think about this, the Krafts have had pretty good run of HC's the last 30 years. Parcells, Carroll (who was sabotaged by the GM here, but history proved he was a very good HC), and Bellichick. They have been a patient and consistent presence .