Jerod Mayo did not answer directly Monday morning when asked on WEEI if Patriots owner Robert Kraft has told him he’ll be back next season as head coach.
The New England Patriots and owner Robert Kraft introduce Jerod Mayo as their new head coach during a press conference Jan. 17 in Foxboro. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald)
Mayo was named head coach in January after the Patriots elected against a full search process. During a renegotiation of Mayo’s contract last January, the Patriots included a clause that established a succession plan if and when the franchise parted ways with Bill Belichick. That clause allowed Mayo to succeed Belichick without the Patriots conducting a full head-coaching search under normal league rules.
The Patriots are 3-10 under Mayo so far this season.
“My main focus has just been really getting this team ready to play this week,” Mayo said.
”I’m not going to get into all of that stuff,” Mayo continued after a follow-up. “Look, here I go again dancing a little bit but my focus is on the guys in this room, the coaches on this staff and winning this game that we have coming up.”
Mayo does have full belief that he’ll be a good head coach, despite his team’s struggles this season.
The 2024 Patriots rank 31st in total offense and 19th in total defense this season. They’re 31st in scoring offense and 20th in points allowed.
Looking at it more analytically, the Patriots are currently 26th in EPA (expected points added) per play and 28th in EPA per play allowed.
“100%. I know I’ll be successful,” Mayo said Monday. “100%. And look, you’re going to go through these trying times. Like, that’s what it is. And the mark of a true leader is being able to navigate this and knowing that you’re going the right way. And I truly believe that we are going the right way. In short term, it may be disappointing, but in the long term, we’re doing it the right way.”
Mayo inherited a team that went 4-13 last season under Bill Belichick, and new executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf didn’t take giant steps to improve the roster, mostly re-signing the Patriots’ own free agents.
The Patriots’ draft class, outside of rookie starting quarterback Drake Maye (who has been fantastic) has struggled to produce.
This will be a massive offseason for the Patriots since they currently rank first in total available cap space with $132.5 million, per OverTheCap.com. They’re also currently slated to have the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, though that could change if they win any of their remaining four games against the Cardinals, Bills, Chargers and Bills (again). The 2-11 Raiders and Giants are the only teams with more losses. The Panthers, Jaguars, Titans, Jets and Browns are also knotted at 3-10.
Mayo was asked if he believes the Patriots’ roster will look different next season.
“We’ll 100% be a better football team next year,” Mayo answered.
Any second-year leap the Patriots receive out of Maye will help. There’s also the possibility that Maye’s potential could attract veteran players to join the Patriots in 2025 and beyond.
