The Patriots Were Wrong to Let Jerod Mayo Go

The Patriots relieved Jerod Mayo after one season as the head coach. Let’s discuss.

This is a bad, bad look for this franchise. I don't know anyone, including super fans and even members of the team that thought the Patriots would be a playoff threat this season. This had rebuild written all over it. The rebuild kind of started in Bill Belicheck's final season. They were worse that year than they were this year. They seem to like the QB they drafted in Drake Maye, but this was going to take time and I don't think Mayo got a fair shot. I was kind of stunned when I saw the headline after it was announced. I remember saying to RD that they need to give him time, that this was going to be a process. I believe I said that to him on a podcast record. But, for some inexplicable reason, the Patriots now find themselves in search of a new head coach.

I don't really know what Mayo did wrong either. They came out in week one and beat the Bengals in Cincy. That's a pretty big deal if you ask me. We all saw how both teams finished, but that was a big win. The Patriots also seemed to like playing for Mayo. The defense was better than it had any right to be. They have some pieces there and it seemed to click with Mayo running the show. The offense was bad, but again, it was a bunch of young dudes seeing massive amounts of playing time. It didn't take Maye too long before he supplanted Jacoby Brissett. Rhamondre Stevenson has issues with fumbling, but he is also an okay enough running back. Maybe he shouldn't be a starter though. The receivers are not good. They've tried to take chances, but nothing has worked out yet. How this collection of players managed to scrape together four wins is amazing to me, and I give a ton of that credit to Mayo for having them prepared to play. It has to be demoralizing stepping onto a pro football field knowing that almost every other team has better talent than the Patriots do. But Mayo and his staff, at the very least, had them ready to go out there and put up a fight. They're also going to be drafting high in the upcoming draft, one full of talent, and that should have been exactly what the fans and front office of the Patriots expected. Hell, I'd say they should have been ecstatic at the fact that they have a top five pick.

When I pull back and look at it, Mayo did the best he could with what he inherited, and he had this team going in the right direction. They have a QB they like. They have a defense that seemed capable at times. They were going to get a very, very good college football player to come in and hopefully help right away. The o line wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. A rebuild takes time and the Patriots were just getting started. Mayo deserved much more of a shot. Hell, he definitely deserved more than one season. And to see Robert Kraft say that he felt the team "regressed" under Mayo is nonsense. Kraft gave him nothing and expected the world out of him at his first try as a head coach.

I hope Jerod Mayo catches on elsewhere and gets a real shot again as an NFL head coach. This may end up being the best for him. But, it does feel like a slap in the face to a guy that played and coached there and was finally getting his first chance to run a team. People expect too much too quick, especially in the sports world. Jerrod Mayo deserved way more time. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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