On Sunday, the New England Patriots announced the dismissal of head coach Jerod Mayo. In the one season he was in charge, the squad finished 3-14.
From 2019 until 2023, Mayo served as the Patriots’ inside linebackers coach. In January of last year, Mayo was elevated to the position of head coach, replacing six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick.
In a statement, New England owner Robert Kraft said, “This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made for myself.”
He went on to say: Regretfully, our team’s season-long performance trajectory did not rise as I had intended.
After an unexpected victory over the Cincinnati Bengals to start the season, the Patriots dropped 13 of their next 15 games. On Sunday, New England defeated the Buffalo Bills in their season finale, but the victory came at a high cost, as the Patriots fell from first to fourth place in the 2018 NFL draft.
Earlier in the season, Mayo caused a stir when he called his roster “soft” following the team’s sixth consecutive defeat.
In October, Mayo declared, “We’re a soft football team across the board.” We discuss the qualities that form a tough football squad, which include the ability to cover kicks, run the ball, and stop the run. None of those were done by us.
Mayo was also criticized for starting rookie quarterback Drake Maye only in Week 6. Despite starting the first five weeks of the season, Jacoby Brissett only threw two touchdowns in eight games overall.
In the end, Mayo’s New England labored on both sides of the ball. As of Week 18, the Patriots gave up the ninth-most yards per game on defense and the third-fewest yards per game on offense.
“We have amazing fans who deserve and expect a greater product than what we have provided in the last few years. In his message, Kraft stated, “I apologize for that.” “After careful deliberation, I decided that this decision was the wisest course of action at this moment to hasten our return to championship contention.
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