FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — In a surprising turn, Jerod Mayo is out after one year as head coach of the New England Patriots, the team announced Sunday.
The Patriots finished the 2024 season with a 4-13 record. Mayo’s one-year tenure matches Rod Rust, who went 1-15 in 1990, for the shortest in franchise history.
“For me, personally, this was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made,” owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. “I have known Jerod for 17 years. He earned my respect and admiration as a rookie in 2008 and throughout his career for his play on the field, his leadership in the locker room and the way he conducted himself in our community. When he joined our coaching staff, his leadership was even more evident, as I saw how the players responded to him. When other teams started requesting to interview him, I feared I would lose him and committed to making him our next head coach. Winning our season-opener on the road at Cincinnati only strengthened my convictions. Unfortunately, the trajectory of our team’s performances throughout the season did not ascend as I had hoped.”
Since buying the team, I have always considered myself and my family as custodians of a public asset. We have tremendous fans who expect and deserve a better product than we have delivered in recent years. I apologize for that. I have given much thought and consideration as to what actions I can take to expedite our return to championship contention and determined this move was the best option at this time.”
“I am grateful for Jerod’s many contributions to the New England Patriots throughout his career and will always be rooting for his success. I appreciate all his hard work and hope the experiences gained will help him in the future, as I still believe he will be a successful head coach in this league. I wish Jerod and his family nothing but success in the future.”
The Patriots won Mayo’s last game as coach, a 23-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills that dropped New England from picking No. 1 in the 2025 draft to No. 4, instead.
Robert Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft will now begin a search for the Patriots’ 16th head coach, with former New England linebacker and Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel among the candidates they are expected to interview.
Robert Kraft expected “growing pains” in Mayo’s debut season, in part because Mayo inherited a depleted roster. The Patriots entered the year tied with the Carolina Panthers for the lowest projected win total — 4.5 — so the decision to move on from Mayo reflects how Kraft viewed the team’s struggles as more than a result of lack of talent.
Firing a head coach after one season is rare, but not unprecedented.
Over the last decade, Mayo joins Frank Reich (Panthers, 2023), Nathaniel Hackett (Denver Broncos, 2022), Lovie Smith (Houston Texans, 2022), David Culley (Texans, 2021), Urban Meyer (Jacksonville Jaguars, 2021), Freddie Kitchens (Cleveland Browns, 2019), Steve Wilks (Arizona Cardinals, 2018), Chip Kelly (San Francisco 49ers, 2016) and Jim Tomsula (49ers, 2015) as non-interim head coaches who didn’t make it to their second season.
The 38-year-old Mayo had been handpicked by Robert Kraft as the successor to Bill Belichick, with Kraft citing his knack for connecting with a younger generation of players. Mayo played linebacker for the Patriots from 2008-2015, served as an executive in finance at a healthcare company upon his retirement and worked in media before joining Belichick’s staff as a linebackers coach from 2019-2023.
In the years leading up to being named Patriots head coach on Jan. 17, 2024, he had interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles and Las Vegas Raiders. Kraft had been concerned he might lose Mayo, so in 2023, he inserted language into his contract that would make him Belichick’s successor. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell later called the succession clause “smart management.”
One of the top disappointments of Mayo’s one-year tenure was the defense, considering that was his expertise as a former player and assistant.
The defense regressed in several areas, entering the season finale with just 12 takeaways and last in the NFL in quarterback contacts, according to ESPN Research.
He also walked back multiple comments over the year, acknowledging he made a “rookie mistake” when saying shortly after being hired that the Patriots would “burn some cash” in free agency. He later amended his remarks to say the Patriots would spend wisely. Mayo also made headlines by calling the Patriots “a soft football across the board” following a sixth straight loss in October, which he clarified the next day to say the team was “playing soft.”
Mayo, who was more talkative with the media than Belichick, acknowledged several times over the year that he would make mistakes as a first-year coach and planned to learn from them. He described his coaching style as rooted in “developing people” while noting “my calling is to be a teacher and help them see what they don’t want to see but need to see.”
The Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since their 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3, 2019.
