Jerod Mayo has been tabbed as the next head coach of the New England Patriots, one day after the franchise and Bill Belichick parted ways after 24 seasons in charge.
A former linebacker with Belichick's Patriots, Mayo spent his entire eight-year NFL career in New England. He's long been thought of as a head coaching candidate and Robert Kraft called him a "strong candidate" as the franchise's next leader after Belichick moved on.
So who is Jerod Mayo, the 15th head coach in Patriots history?
A standout college player
Mayo played for the University of Tennessee from 2004 to 2007, earning First-Team All-SEC honors in 2007 and was a Rivals.com All-Americans Second Team.
An impressive start in the NFL
The Patriots selected Mayo with the 10th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was the only rookie from that draft class to start in Week 1.
Mayo finished his first NFL season with 128 tackles and was named AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.
A decorated NFL career
The honors would not stop there for Mayo. He would finish his NFL career as a 2010 First-Team All-Pro, two-time Pro Bowler, and a member of the Patriots' All-2010s Team.
During the 2014 season, Mayo tore his patellar tendon and was placed on injured reserve. The Patriots would go on to win Super Bowl XLIX over the Seattle Seahawks.
A short stay outside football following retirement
After retiring in Feb. 2016, Mayo worked in finance for a health care services provider called Optum.
"I've always had an interest in business," Mayo said at the time. "I've been doing a lot of things the last two or three years. I've been on [injured reserve] so I had a lot of time. I had a lot of time to start making this pivot."
Back to football as a coach
Three years after announcing his retirement, Mayo joined the Patriots as an inside linebackers coach in 2019. He would eventually garner interest around the league for coaching roles, but New England was where his heart is and would remain.
"I'm confident that I'll grow here," <a data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" href="https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/jerod-mayo-explains-why-he-turned-down-head-coaching-interviews-chose-to-remain-with-patriots/">Mayo said last spring</a>. "Where that leads, I'm not sure. Hopefully, I'm here for the foreseeable future, but we'll just have to see. I am confident in the plan they put together as far as my development is concerned."
Seen as the "heir apparent"
All roads seemed to have Mayo winding up as the one to replace Belichick.
"There is no ceiling on his ability to grow and how competent he is," said Robert Kraft last March. ... "Well, he's definitely a strong candidate to be the heir apparent, but we have some other good people in our system. So right now, we have a good head coach, and we're doing everything we can to support him, and make sure we do everything we can to win."
Well-respected in the Patriots organization
Patriots LB Matthew Judon: "He expects greatness out of everyone/ And he understands that greatness is only achievable for a day — or only achievable for a minute."
Bill Belichick on Mayo as a player: "Jerod was probably the best communicator on defense we've ever had here.
Patriots DT Lawrence Guy: “Jerod is a good coach, and he has an aspiration of trying to get better Coming from a former player, he gets it—been on the field, put the hand in the dirt, and understands from both sides now, he got to come in with words to inspire people and to uplift them and say, ‘This is what we got to do. When I was a player, this is how we did it. Make these calls, you can try this. This is going to be your failure. This is going to be your success on it.'”
He understands this generation of NFL players
Player attitudes have changed in the NFL and older coaches trying to relate with younger players has gotten more difficult. Mayo feels he can bridge that gap and make connections with this generation of players.
"I would say, even with this locker room now, at least defensively, those guys want transparency, and they also appreciate when you're honest with them," <a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="https://www.bostonsportsjournal.com/2024/01/04/nfl-notebook-giardi---mayo-is-ready-for-the-next-step-in-his-coaching-journey">Mayo told Boston Sports Journal last week</a>. "At this level, there are a lot of yes-men and yes-women around ... from a coach's perspective, our job is to put a mirror in front of your face and really show what you're doing on the field, and hopefully, you can take that out of love ... that's the way I coach.
"Once you build that relationship with a guy, you can be tough on the players. But if you don't have that - I always talk about warmth before confidence. Like at this stage, it was a little different back when I played, like whatever the coach tells you to do, you just go out and do it. This generation is a little bit different where they really want to have accountability, they want to understand the why, and my job is to go out there and tell them what I see on the sideline."