In a surprising move, Jerod Mayo is out after just one year as head coach of the New England Patriots, the team announced Sunday.
The Patriots ended the 2024 season with a 4-13 record. Mayo’s one-year stint ties him with Rod Rust, who went 1-15 in 1990, for the shortest head coaching tenure in the franchise’s 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.”
The Patriots won Mayo’s final game as head coach, a 23-16 victory over the Buffalo Bills, which moved New England from the No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft to No. 4.
Robert Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft will now start their search for the Patriots’ 16th head coach. Former New England linebacker and Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is expected to be one of the candidates they will interview.
Robert Kraft expected “growing pains” in Mayo’s first season, partly because Mayo took over a depleted roster. The Patriots entered the season with one of the lowest expected win totals, tied with the Carolina Panthers at 4.5 wins. This decision to let Mayo go reflects Kraft’s view that the team’s struggles were not only due to a lack of talent.
Firing a head coach after just one season is rare but not unheard of.
Over the last ten years, Mayo joins a list of other head coaches who were fired after one season, including 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).
Mayo, 38, was chosen by Robert Kraft as the successor to Bill Belichick. Kraft valued Mayo’s ability to connect with younger players. Mayo played linebacker for the Patriots from 2008 to 2015, worked in finance in healthcare after retiring, and was a media personality before joining Belichick’s staff as a linebackers coach from 2019 to 2023.
Before becoming head coach, Mayo had interviewed for head coaching jobs with the Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, and Las Vegas Raiders. To prevent losing Mayo, Kraft added language in his contract in 2023 to make him Belichick’s successor. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell later praised the succession clause as “smart management.”
One of the biggest disappointments during Mayo’s short tenure was the defense, which was expected to be his strength, given his background. The defense struggled in multiple areas, ending the season with just 12 takeaways and ranking last in the NFL in quarterback hits, according to ESPN Research.
Mayo also made several comments during the season that he later walked back. For example, he said shortly after being hired that the Patriots would “burn some cash” in free agency, but later clarified that they would spend wisely.
He also made headlines when he called the Patriots “a soft football team across the board” after a sixth straight loss in October. The next day, he clarified that the team was “playing soft.”
Mayo, who spoke more openly with the media than Belichick, admitted multiple times during the season that he would make mistakes as a first-year coach and intended to learn from them. He described his coaching style as focused on “developing people” and noted, “my calling is to be a teacher and help them see what they don’t want to see but need to see.”
The Patriots have not won a playoff game since their 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII on February 3, 2019.
